Behind Closed Doors
by Shivvlan
Summary: AU Pre-game. Reno x Rufus. Blurb can be found at the start of Chapter 1. INCOMPLETE! But in revision-A long, involved, revision that may never end
1. The Art of Ballroom Dancing

Chapter one: reviewed and rewritten. Read on to see never before seen scenes and exclusive footage only available in this, one time copy.

**Blurb**: AU-ish. Pre-game. After his mother's murder young Rufus finds himself unwillingly assigned a "bodyguard" to watch over his every movement, but can he get along with the cocky red-head of the Turks? And what's the mystery behind his mother's death, not to mention Reno's odd dreams? 

**_Chapter one_**

The boy stood alone on the balcony, the light wind teasing the soft mass of his blonde hair and fluttering his fringe into his eyes.

Irritatedly he ran his fingers through the offending hair in an attempt to push it back into place, succeeding only in making it look more chaotic then it already was.

He swore under his breath then gave up on his hair to absently re-clasp his hands around a glass of warming wine.

Behind him the merry sounds of the ball he'd been forced to attend filtered through to him but he paid it little mind; he'd grown bored of the high pitched voices coloured by over drinking, the hot flushed faces and sweaty clothing caused by to many people packed into one room, and most of all he'd gotten sick of having to act the charming idiot to his fathers slimy sycophants.

With a sigh the boy looked at the Mako corrupted sky above him and closed his eyes, letting the cool night breeze wash over him. As he stood silently he could feel the last traces of the sticky sweat, gained while traversing the room behind him, trickling down his back and drying.

He'd have to go back soon, or someone would come looking for him.

As if the boy's thought had summoned it, the sound of a boot scuffing the ground, followed by a discreet cough, alerted him that he had company.

"Sir...?" The voice sounded bored; as if the owner could think of a hundred other things he'd rather be doing then going to fetch some snot-nosed kid.

The boy didn't bother to acknowledge the voice; instead he continued looking up at the poisoned sky high above him and the city. 

"Sir." The voice was more forceful this time; hinting that the owner wouldn't be very happy to have to say it a third time and that the boy had better not make him. 

With a slight smile tugging at the corner of the boy's normally expressionless lips he decided not to taunt whomever it was his father had sent to fetch him.

"What." he stated, his voice cold and emotionless, something he'd learnt to do since birth.

"Sir. Your father has requested your presence at the main table." The man's tone had dropped back to a bored drawl.

"Requested?" The boy raised an eyebrow and turned to face the man and felt his eyes widen slightly before he forced his features back into their normal blank expression. The man before him looked only a few years older then the boy himself. His longish red hair was tied back in a ponytail, the short fringe left to frame a surprisingly handsome face. His dark blue suit was tidy, freshly pressed, but somehow the man stood in a way that made him seem rumpled and unkempt. 

The boy's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he realized just whom his father had sent to fetch him. Not one of his toadies as the boy had imagined, but one of his Turks._ What is the old pervert up too? _

"Since when has my father ever _requested_ anything?"

The man's face remained expressionless, his gaze focusing at some point behind the boy's right shoulder.

The blonde boy's eyes narrowed further then he stood up straight, squaring his shoulders. _Enough of freedom..._

The blonde stepped towards the entrance to the ballroom, his soft white boots making little or no noise on the balcony's surface, walking past the Turk as if he wasn't there. 

His foot had barely stepped across the threshold however when a weight suddenly hit him from behind. The boy tumbled to the ground, the weight atop him, landing heavily. For a moment he lay dazed then he felt anger rise within him, _How _dare_ he, _what_ did this _Turk_ think he was doing!?_

He struggled to raise himself off the ground and get the Turk off of him but the man kept the boy pinned to the ground with his greater strength. Growling the boy turned his head in an attempt to look back at the man pinning him to the cold floor and his eye caught a flack of silver.

Glancing involuntarily towards the flash, the boy's mouth opened in a silent 'O' at what he saw. Instantly he stopped struggling with the man on top of him and stared. 

People in the ballroom were beginning to scream now as what had happened sunk in and many were making a dash for the broad steel doors that was the only exit and entrance to the room other then the windows.

The boy snapped his mouth shut suddenly as he felt the weight on top of him move slightly, then hot breath on his ear.

"Stay low," the Turk whispered, "and go back out onto the balcony. Try and stay out of sight if you can." 

The boy nodded slightly then the weight was off him and the Turk had disappeared into the crowd of screaming highborn. The boy scrambled to his knees, wincing at the thought of what it was going to do to the white pants he wore, then made his way back to the balcony. 

As he reached the threshold he staggered to his feet and found himself nose-to-nose with the doorframe, and set right before his eyes were bullet holes. 

_...A sniper?_ The boy's eyes widened in sudden understanding and he silently thanked the Turk who had so rudely shoved him to the ground.

The blonde pulled his fascinated eyes away from the holes in the doorframe and dived onto the balcony and stood against the wall, his eyes closed.

_I hope that Turk knows what he's doing, if anything goes wrong I have nowhere to go._

The boy opened his eyes then peered around the doorframe at the room within. At first he could see nothing around the mob of screaming women and running men, then what he saw froze him in his place, afraid to breathe.

_Mother?! _In the center of the mess was a man dressed in clothes that covered him from head to foot. In one hand he held a sawn off shotgun, in the other he held the boy's mother. 

In plain sight the boy could see Tseng, head of the Turks, gun in hand and pointed at the man. On the opposite side of the loose circle that surrounded the Gunman was a bald man, in shades, also a Turk. Quickly the boy glanced around for his father, the man was nowhere to be seen.

From where the boy stood he could catch nothing but brief glimpses of what was going on. As the gunman moved his head from side to side, trying to see everything around him, the boy could see his mouth moving under the thick balaclava that was over his head.

Vaguely the boy realized that the visitors to the ball were locked into the ballroom, the heavy steel doors having been locked inside _and_ out. 

The situation around the boy's mother seemed to be deteriorating. The gunman's shouts were becoming louder, so that the boy could almost hear them, and he'd put the shotgun to the terrified woman's head.

Tseng seemed to be saying something placating to the gunman but he shook his head wildly and replied something that made Tseng and the other Turk go deathly pale. The boy strained to see around a knot of people then jumped in shock at the sudden loud bang as the gunman's shot gun went off, seeming too echo in the suddenly quiet ballroom, then the moment of silence was ripped apart as quieter bangs sounded from the handguns of the Turks.

The boy watched in shocked horror as his view of what was going on suddenly became unobstructed a he saw the lifeless body of his mother fall to the ground in a crumpled heap, and then the body of her murderer fell next to it. 

He didn't know he'd leapt from his place on the balcony, his mouth forming a silent cry of incredulous disbelief, until he'd tripped on the doorframe and crashed hard to the floor. A look of disbelieving horror was on the boy's face as he crawled up onto his scraped hands and knees and stared at the limp, headless body that had once been his mother and the spray of blood over the wall closest to it.

The boy frantically staggered to his feet, his only thought to reach where his mother's body lay, and was suddenly stopped as he was grabbed around the waist from behind. The boy struggled like a wild beast, all nails and teeth, till he suddenly felt the cool steel of the business end of a revolver being put to his head. The still rational part of his brain suddenly took over and he went very still, his eyes staring sightlessly at the carnage filled room before him.

_I'm going to die._  His breath caught in his throat and for a moment he thought he was going to choke then and there. Suddenly the low gloating laugh that had been echoing in the boy's ear cut off to be replaced by a strangled curse.

"Oh _shit_!"

The boy heard a loud sound near his ear. _Oh _Ancients_! He's shot me! _The blonde held rigidly still, waiting for death's icy grip to envelope him. The man who'd grabbed him suddenly slipped to the floor and a rough hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You all right, kid?"

The boy looked down at the man at his feet and noted the pool of thick blood, bright red against pale marble, spreading across the floor and staining his white boots. 

Tearing his gaze up from the body at his feet the blonde looked at the red haired Turk whom had saved his life for the second time that evening.

"Kid?" The man looked concerned. Peering at the boy he pulled up his gun hand and pushed his fringe out of his face, leaving a streak of the dead man's blood in its wake.

The boy stared obsessively at the streak of blood. He was beginning to feel flushed.

"I aaahhh...." The boy began to sway slightly; then everything that had just happened suddenly hit him. The boy made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, then his eyes rolled back into his head.

The red haired Turk cursed and lurched forward, grabbing a hold of the boy before he hit the ground.

"Damn..." he murmured as he looked down at the unconscious young man in his arms. "Bit much for you, eh kid?" he shook his head in sympathy, "...Let's get you home."

-=-=-

Reno lay the unconscious boy gently on his bed and looked down at him. The young mans face was serene in sleep; the strands of his golden hair fanning out across the pillow making him seem like a golden auraed Angel. Reno frowned, the vivid stains of red over the boy's white outfit made the image into something almost grotesque, a parody of innocence.

As Reno watched a shadow passed over Rufus' sleeping features and he reached out in his sleep for something and the Turk frowned again. _Better get those bloody clothes off him before he wakes up. He'll freak if he sees them._

Quickly, businesslike, Reno stripped Rufus of his clothes and swore quietly under his breath as he surveyed the amount of blood that was soaked into the pile. 

Looking back to the naked boy, Reno let his eye's wander down the seemingly perfect rows of lithe muscles and smooth skin then grinned wolfishly to himself. _The kid would have kittens if he knew I was staring at him like this_.

With a slight shake of his head Reno pulled the blankets up over the sleeping boy then turned and grabbed the pile of clothing with a slight grimace, then left the apartment, pausing only to throw the clothes into the trash as he made his way to the ShinRa tower.

When the Turk finally reached the silent building he quickly made his way to the elevator and shoved his key-card negligently into the card slot and waited as he was taken quickly upwards to the floor the Turks, officially known as the ShinRa Manufacturing Department of Administrative Research, conducted the more official side of their business from.

"You're late." Was the greeting Reno got as the doors to the lift opened to reveal Reno's normal partner in crime, Rude.

Reno shrugged and, hands in pockets, sauntered out of the lift and down the hall to Tseng's open office door, "Kid was heavy…"

"…Which in turn made your car break down, which caused you to have to walk back to the tower. Am I correct?" Tseng continued for him, from where he sat at his desk as Reno and Rude entered the spacious office, his tone amused.

Reno dropped heavily into one of the padded chairs across the desk from his boss and propped his feet up on the desk earning a scowl from Tseng, which he ignored, "Close enough to make explanation unnecessary." 

"And the break down had nothing to do with the fact that your car is about 3 times as old as you are and would break down even if you looked at it oddly?" Tseng asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Straight on the button." Reno propped his head on his hand and gazed across the desk at Tseng suddenly serious, "What happened?"

Tseng's expression went immediately blank, his eyes glittering coldly, "We were set up."

Reno's feet came down off the desk as he sat up straight, "We what?"

"We were set up." Tseng repeated in a mild tone, "By none other then our beloved president no-less."

Reno's expression was imitating that of a suffocating fish, "You're kidding."

Tseng shook his head grimly; "The people who crashed the ball tonight were hired to assassinate Vice-President ShinRa, and they made a mistake."

"Being…?"

"He told us who sent him." Rude grunted making Reno start with surprise, he'd been so intent on Tseng he'd forgotten the bigger Turk was there.

"He? He who?"

Tseng frowned in irritation, "The guy we blew the brains out of."

"…Oh." Reno tilted his head in thought, "Are you sure he informed you right? It could be a trick."

Tseng picked up a thin brown folder from where it had been sitting in front of him and shifted it across the desk, flipping it open to the correct page as he did so, "The president never was to good at hiding his dealings when the Turks aren't there to cover it up for him…"

Reno glanced down at the papers, his eyes caught immediately by the obvious 'extra' expenses that were badly covered up and the notations of people doing odd jobs outside their normal duties. All marks of a man who normally only has to click his fingers to have things done, but has never done them himself.

Reno snorted then leaned back in his chair again, "So how do we come into this?"

Tseng leaned forward slightly, his fingers steepled in front of his eyes, "He set us up. We're the ones that take his fall and protect him from anyone finding out it was him who ordered this 'tragedy'."

Reno narrowed his eyes, "So this is all our fault, because we didn't do our jobs and protect the presidential family? Must be a thorn in his side that I managed to protect the kid then." His eyes widened again, "Unless, of course, that was what he was counting on. I'd wondered why he'd sent me to go fetch."

Tseng shrugged elegantly and leant back in his chair, one fine boned hand drumming out a slow tattoo on the desktop as he thought, "I think in that case I want to be more safe then sorry. He needs a guard, if you saved him and you weren't supposed too he could be in trouble."

"So what? We see if any of SOLDIER is useful for something other then sitting around admiring their muscles?"

Tseng tilted his head back then looked Reno straight in the eye, "No. I want to keep this as close within the ranks of the Turks as we can. Congratulations Reno, you have a new assignment."

Reno's feet slid off the desk for the second time in the past ten minutes and hit the floor with an audible thump, "You're kidding?!"

Tseng arched one slim eyebrow, "I don't like having my organisation being set up to take anyone's falls; especially not our darling Presidents'. We will get to the bottom of this and to do that I need us all co-operating. Also, I have a feeling you can handle Rufus better then Rude ever could. And I'll be to busy."

Reno shot Rude a sidelong look and gave in; he knew exactly what would happen if Rude went to bodyguard the notorious spoilt ShinRa brat. _Either Rufus would be dead or Rude would…_

"Oh alright. But I'm doing this under protest and I better be getting paid extra."

  Tseng smiled slightly in satisfaction, "Protest noted, and I'll pay you extra if you promise to buy a new car."

Reno rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat again, "You know. I'm beginning to get the impression you don't like my car. She's a classic, you're just jealous of her. Right Rude?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow at the redhead and fought down an uncharacteristic smile, "Yes Reno. That's exactly it. Do you want the extra pay or not?"

Reno glared then shrugged, "Fine fine. New car it is."

Tseng nodded then looked significantly at the door, "This job starts as of now. Rude, give him a lift."

Reno groaned then levered himself out of his seat and sauntered to the door, pausing when Tseng called out an after-thought.

"And Reno. Try not to aggravate him to much, he _can_ fire you, you know."

Reno grinned wolfishly over his shoulder, "I'd like to see him try." Then he disappeared down the hall, Rude trailing along behind. 

-=-=-=-

Rufus woke up slowly, the warm sun in his eyes making it impossible to sleep longer.

_Why'd I leave the curtains open...? _He wondered groggily and pulled the blanket up over his head.

What had happened last night? He tried to remember, _that stupid ball of fathers. Now I remember._ He must have gotten so rotten-faced drunk that he just didn't remember what had happened. He vaguely recalled confusing snippets of memory, a scream, the sight of a group of highborns running across the ballroom. _Must have been one hell of a party..._

He was just dozing off to sleep again when there was a crash from the kitchen and a muted curse. Rufus was instantly sitting upright, his hand groping into the draw of his bedside table for the gun he kept handy.

As soon as his hand clasped the handle of the weapon he eased himself out of bed and suddenly realized something. He was naked.

_Huh? _

Shaking his head in confusion Rufus finally shrugged and grabbed the pristine white robe off the end of his bed and settled it around his shoulders, tying it quickly and tightly around his middle. As soon as he had the cover on he walked quietly over to the bedroom door, nudged it open slightly and peered out into the apartment beyond. 

Nothing.

Gun leading the way Rufus edged out of the room and paced across the living area, his steps silent on the plush white carpet. Slowly he made his way to the kitchen. As he got there he noticed the aroma of cooking food. He was beginning to get mightily confused. 

He took a step around the counter and stepped into the kitchen proper to stare in confused amazement. Someone had broken into his apartment and was cooking?

Suddenly an arm appeared from behind him and plucked the gun out of his unresisting grip. Startled he stepped backwards against the kitchen counter, his hands resting on it's edge. It was the red haired Turk from the ball.

Rufus blinked and found hazy images flitting though his head. There was something horribly important he had to remember about last night, he realized confusedly. And this Turk, who was giving him a cool, calculating look and laying his weapon on the kitchen table, had something to do with it.

"A good habit to get into after last night." The redhead commented with a nod, "I don't quite think you needed to bring it to breakfast though. Put it away and go get dressed."

Rufus stared at the man his mouth falling open slightly, _last night? What had happened last night?_ And why was he daring to give Rufus orders. And in a tone that expected them to be obeyed!

Anger lifted it's head within the young Shinra and he lifted his own head and squared his shoulders, "How _dare_ you speak to me in that tone of voice! Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment?!" he demanded fiercely.

Taken aback by the younger boy's reaction the redhead took a step backwards and stared at the young man who, last night, had been a frightened, confused, little boy. _He looks amazing when he's angry,_ he found himself thinking inappropriately. _Damnit Reno, get your brain out of your pants and think. After what this kid saw last night he should be a gibbering wreck_. _Something's wrong here..._

The moment didn't last for long. Reno's eyes narrowed, "I'm your protection kid, in case of a repeat of last night. I've been temporarily assigned to guard your back.  Better get used to it. Now."

Rufus blinked at Reno a few times the tension draining out of his body as more confusing images bombarded him, "L… last night? W... what happened last night?" 

Reno stared down into Rufus' anxious blue eyes and clicked, _Ancients... He doesn't remember._

Watching the boy closely Reno spoke slowly, "There was a terrorist attack at the ball last night. You were almost killed, your father went missing for a considerable amount of hours and your mother...." He trailed off at the suddenly desperate look in Rufus' eyes. He was remembering.

And Rufus did remember, the fear, the shouting. The gunman had been holding onto her, the shotgun to her head... then he had pulled the trigger. Brains and blood had gone everywhere. Over the wall, the floors, and the people nearby... NO! _NO, it isn't, _can't _be true!_

"NO! LIAR!" Rufus threw himself at the redhead before him and tried to pummel him with his fists only to find himself held tightly against the others chest. He screamed and bit at his captor, trying to claw himself away from this man, the one who was telling him such horrible lies. 

"No! No!" He whimpered, the strength suddenly going out of his body, and he slumped against the Turk who held him. Silently he found himself sobbing into the man's rumpled shirt and felt a gentle hand caressing his hair.

He ignored the comforting touch. _No! It can't be true... can't be... mother! _

Suddenly everything went black and he slumped into Reno's arms. 

He'd fainted again.

-=-=-

Reno sighed and held the younger man up then, realizing his breakfast was burning, lay him quickly on the floor and dashed to the stove cursing. He grabbed the pan off of the stove then cursed again as he burnt his hand. 

"Damnit! ...Shi't! …Damnit! Hot!" Quickly he dived for the sink and ran his hand under cold water. Brilliant, just what he needed to start off the morning.

Reno glared over at the unconscious form of Rufus lying on the floor. Trust him to have another fainting fit. 

Reno pulled his burnt hand out from under the cold water and glared at it. It was turning red, but there wasn't much swelling. _Not to bad then, just have to bandage it._

Frowning he turned the cold water off with his undamaged right hand then began to rummage around the kitchen, looking for a first aid kit.

As Reno searched Rufus came around slowly. Muzzily he shook his head a little and stared at the legs of one of his kitchen chairs. 

_Huh?! _Quickly he looked around him, _What am I doing on my kitchen floor?!_

As the boy stared around dazedly he finally noticed Reno pulling a bandage out of the cupboard and beginning to wrap it around his hand. 

_Argh! _He suddenly remembered why he was on the kitchen floor. 

Stifling a moan he sat up slowly and pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them; seeing, once again, the entire scene from the night before play out again in his minds eye. _Mother..._

A flicker of movement caught his attention and Rufus, from his position on the floor, watched the red haired Turk walk over to something on the counter and begin to look it over.

_I shouldn't let him see me like this... Get up._ With the stern thought to himself, and also the thought of this Turk reporting his weakness back to his father, Rufus climbed to his feet; then picked up his gun off the counter.

"Awake again." the Turk said his back to Rufus, "You alright?" 

Rufus stared at the Turks back, his eyes boring into the back of the man's head. _I don't have to answer to you. _Rufus turned on his heel and marched back into his bedroom.

Once there he shut the door firmly and threw his gun onto the bed. As he leant against the door he battled to keep his expression calm._ Mother... _Once again the scene played out in his mind; The gunman turning to look Tseng in the eye, then Tseng going so deathly pale. Then the gunman had pulled the trigger of his shotgun. 

Rufus slumped against his bedroom door and slid down to the floor, screwing his eyes shut and burying his face in his hands, attempting to block out the image of his beloved mother's lifeless body slumping to the floor, her blood and brains coating the floor and wall behind where she'd stood.

_Someone should have saved her! That's what the Turks are for! They were there, why didn't they save her!?_ Rufus' head was dully aching where he had one hand tightly clenched in his hair. _Tseng was right there! The leader of the Turks, and one of his sidekicks, and what about the red haired one, why didn't _he_ do anything?!  _

_Because he was saving you, a_ small voice in the back of his head said, but Rufus, lost in grief refused to listen. _He left me! I was on the balcony; he could have snuck up behind the gunman or something. Oh Mother...._

Suddenly he noticed the tears that were making silver tracks down his cheeks and wetting the collar of his robe. _Get a hold of yourself Rufus! Stand up and get dressed. That Turk is here to spy on you, he won't hesitate to report this weakness back to father. _

With a last sniff the boy climbed up the side of the door and walked unsteadily into the bathroom and ran water into the sink to wash his face with. Rufus avoided looking in the mirror before him and splashed the chilly water on his face, he knew he'd look horrible and he couldn't seem to face himself. In the back of his mind was a niggling doubt, _why didn't I do something?_

As soon as his face was washed Rufus pulled his robe off and marched back into his room and rummaged in his closet for a clean set of clothes. As he opened the door to the closet he viewed it dully. All of it was bright coloured, the clothes of a mildly happier youth. 

With a grim frown Rufus pushed it all out of the way and reached to the back of the closet where he keep a second set of the white outfit he'd been wearing the night before. He didn't know what had happened to the outfit, and he shuddered as he remembered the sight of blood splashed across it, but he could have others made. He was in mourning now, and white was the colour of mourning. Quickly he pulled on a set of boxers then pulled the white pants and black skive on; he decided to leave the long white vest and white coat hanging up for now, and straightened it all before the mirror, still avoiding looking himself in the eye. He was afraid if he did he'd break down again.   

Rufus ran a comb though his unruly locks of rich blonde hair quickly then walked out the door to his bedroom, gathering about him the aura of cold arrogance that he'd used before when dealing with his fathers 'people'.

-=-=-

Reno turned and watched the retreating back of the young Shinra with narrowed eyes,_ definitely a chip on his shoulder, arrogant little sod._

Reno turned back to the pan before him and stared at the slightly overcooked bacon._ Not to bad, certainly edible. _Quickly he set to dishing it up with the other bits of breakfast he'd made and had just finished putting Rufus' plate on the table when the boy emerged from his bedroom._ Well then. All cleaned up and not a hair out of place. _

The boy looked at Reno uncertainly for a moment then the cool arrogant mask he was famed for fell over his features. Reno gestured at the food on the table.

"Breakfast."

Rufus glanced from the plate then back at Reno, his face blank,"It's burnt_._" 

Reno's eyes narrowed slightly, _so that's the way he wants to play it then. _"Yes sir. I had my hands full while I was making it."

Rufus glared at Reno then flicked his fringe back out of his eyes with the back of his hand and sneered, "I'm not hungry." 

Barely glancing at the red haired Turk Rufus brushed passed him into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice then breezed out again and walked through to the lounge and settled himself in a chair and put his feet up on the coffee table.__

_Definitely an arrogant little sod, _Reno realized he was slightly amused. _Well. I guess this just means more for me. _

Reno settled himself at the table and eagerly dug into the hearty breakfast and watched his young charge under his lashes. The boy was sipping on his orange juice with an arrogantly bored air to him. Uncharacteristically Reno felt a small amount of pity for the boy. He'd seen the way the boy had reacted to the death of his mother. Bare moments before he'd been out cold refusing to accept it. Now, because he refuses to show weakness to an enemy, he's locked it all away.

As Reno finished the last of the bacon Rufus stood and put his empty glass on the kitchen counter.

"Where is my Father?" 

The question took Reno by surprise, "Where he'd normally be I'd assume." Reno said, lifting his plates and putting them on the kitchen bench, "In his office."

Rufus' expression grew clouded for a moment then cleared back into its normal blankness, "Of course…" He murmured, almost to himself.

"See those dishes are done." He stated flatly after a moment of silence, "You may be a slob but I am not." Without another word Rufus walked from the room again, this time into a smallish room with huge, floor to ceiling windows. The 'sunroom' Reno guessed.

The red headed Turk stared after the blonde for a moment then stared at the pile of dirty dishes. _Wash the dishes? What do I look like, a washerwoman?_  But then, he wasn't a nursemaid either and here he was doing just that to this arrogant little mommas boy. 

Glaring at the dirty dishes again Reno grunted, _May as well get it over and done with. Remind me to eat at home from now on. _

-=-=-

Rufus unlatched the lock on one of the huge windows and pushed it open, stepping out onto a small balcony. He left the window swinging open and rested his hands on the balcony rail, leaning out over the edge to stare downwards at the plate that covered sector 4.

'_Ugly-as-sin_' were the only words Rufus could think of to describe the sight before him. His eyes followed the length of the plate till they reached the huge Mako reactor that sat at the end of it, like a huge overturned bucket. Beyond it Rufus could make out little more then the edges of the city and faintly, though the tainted mako-hazed air, some of the mountains that were in the distance. He hated Midgar. _Maybe I should go to Junon._

The thought cheered him for a moment then he stared down at his hands, which were clutching tightly at the stone of the balcony wall. What was the point? He'd never get to stay there. His father would track him down and pull him back.

He didn't know how long he stood there staring at his hands, the light breeze that managed to get through the thick Mako pollution stirring his hair. His mind was in turmoil; he could hardly accept what had happened the night before. _How_ had it happened? The Shinra balls were _normally_ the most highly protected functions in Midgar. Soldiers most Elite had been there along with the Turks, how had the terrorists gotten in?

Rufus' thoughts spun around and around in tight circles. Behind him he faintly heard the sounds of his 'bodyguard' moving around, but he ignored them. He'd far sooner forget about his father's little spy.

The sounds behind Rufus began to grow louder after a moment and he thought he heard the sound of voices. _Was the Turk talking to himself?_ Rufus turned, irritated, to deliver a scolding remark to the tall redhead and was surprised to see the man standing a few feet away from him.

"Sir. You father is here to see you." The man's voice was noncommittal.

Rufus' eyes grew slightly wide and he stared past the Turk at the man pouring himself a glass of drink from the cabinet that stood on one side of Rufus' living room.

Rufus' gaze went to the blank face of the red haired Turk then he turned his own, now blank gaze, back to the man who was supposedly his father. Pushing his hair out of his face, Rufus stepped passed the tall Turk and back into the apartment, making his way into the living room.

"Sir?" He said once he'd arrived in the room; the word was more a sneer then a title.

The president ignored his son for a moment to focus on the cool amber liquid that swirled around the bottom of his glass then, blinking as sunlight shone directly into his eyes, looked at the boy.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and rattled the liquid around in the glass some more.

Rufus decided not to humour the man. _Let him stew._ He deliberately stood at near 'attention', staring off at a point over the old mans left shoulder, his face an impassive mask. 

-=-=-

"The… incident last night was unfortunate." The man began, taking a sip of his drink. From where Reno stood, just out of sight, he saw Rufus' eyebrow twitch but other then that the boy showed no other reaction to the man's words.

"Very unfortunate… Your mother's funeral will be held in two days time. You'll be picked up." The boy's father looked up at his son with narrowed eyes then smiled slightly at the lack of reaction his words brought. 

"And once that tediousness is done with, you will be taking her place as vice president of the company. I trust you'll do a better job then _she_ did."

The man dropped the glass he'd been drinking from onto the sideboard then turned and walked for the door, muttering one last comment to himself, one obviously not supposed to be heard by the others in the room, "But of course you'll do a better job then she did; that's why I got rid of her."

Reno looked sharply at Rufus and was startled to see no reaction in the boy. He'd remained perfectly still, his face completely blank.

It wasn't until the door had slammed shut and the president's heavy footsteps had faded that Rufus sprung into action. 

Much to Reno's startlement the boy spun on his heel and grabbed the Reno by his coat and, slamming him back against the wall, thrust his hand under the Turks coat and pulled the sleek handgun from it's hiding place, then, in the same motion, spun back around and began to shoot the drinks cabinet.

Reno stared in shock as the quiet pings of the silenced weapon sounded and across the room bottles exploded into showers glass and alcohol. After the third shot Reno suddenly gathered his meandering wits and leapt forward, wrapping the boy in his strong arms and forcing him to lower the weapon. Rufus struggled against him for a moment then went still. Reno held him cautiously for a moment then loosened his grip on the still youth.

Immediately he regretted his choice as the boy dropped the gun then rammed his elbow backwards into Reno's stomach, doubling him over in pain.

Rufus stepped away from the man, his fists gripped so tightly at his sides that the knuckles were white. "Don't you ever touch me again!" he hissed from behind gritted teeth, then turned on his heel and disappeared into his bedroom.

  Reno wheezed for a moment, trying to catch his breath, then, clutching his aching stomach with his right hand, scooped up the gun with his left and examined the mess that had been the sideboard.

"Well," He gasped, a faint grin hovering on his lips, "at least I know he's a good shot." 

-------

Vanyel. Please R&R!!

-------


	2. It's all in the job description

**Disclaimer**: No amount of sitting in a darkened room surrounded by candles and singing mantras while praying has helped me own either characters or Final Fantasy 7, so until the day when my prayers are answered, none of them belong to me. The fic belongs to me though and if I catch anyone stealing or copying it without permission I'll beat them senseless with a wet fish and a spiced candle. 

            **_Chapter Two_**

**__**

Rufus stood looking over the edge of ShinRa's central Mako reactor, his thoughts a million miles away.

            After his father had left his apartment two days ago he'd stayed in his room. He hadn't wanted to face the red haired Turk that was assigned to him. Actually, to be more precise, he hadn't wanted to face anyone. He'd sat on his bed the entire time, his eyes unfocused and staring into space and his thoughts in as much, if not more, chaos then they had been when the events of the ball had happened. He'd ignored the occasional tapings on his door by Reno, even when the man had tried to get him to come out to eat.  

            All the time he'd been in his room, the same thoughts had echoed through his head, _father had mother killed. Why? What did she do? Will he do the same to me?_

            He didn't know the answers to the first two questions, but he knew the answer to the third. _Yes. If I don't do a good job, he _will_ do the same to me._

            Before he'd realised the time had gone by, he was being collected for the funeral. He'd dressed carefully for it, made sure everything about the pure white suit he wore was perfect; then he'd been brought to the Midgar central reactor.

            The dead weren't buried in Midgar. They were cast into the reactors; their bodies thrown in to become a part of the cities energy supply. 

            Rufus had stood through the entire ceremony with a look of bored arrogance on his face, trying to look as if he couldn't wait for it to be over, when all he really wanted to do was leap forward and throw his father into the reactor after the coffin of his beloved mother.

            He'd suffered through the false condolences of his father's suck-ups. Then waited until everyone bar he and his shadow, as he'd begun to think of Reno, had left.

            Once he was alone he had walked to the edge of the reactor to stare down into it, marvelling at its beauty. There was hardly any beauty in Midgar. He'd been told once that when the city was young, many years before he was born, the city had been beautiful. Now it was nothing but a decayed beast, left dead and alone by the roadside. 

            Rufus shook his head and blinked, then lidded his eyes a little against the glare of the Mako light. All he really had to do was jump. It would only take a few seconds then he'd see if the old legends were true, if he could really become one with the life stream. He held onto that legend now; it was the only thing he could believe had happened to his mother. 

            Behind him Reno had come closer to where he stood; Rufus could see the man out of the corner of his eye. _He knows, _he realised slightly bemused, _knows I'd love nothing more then to throw myself in_. 

            As Rufus watched out of the corner of his eye Reno positioned himself within easy grabbing distance, ready for nearly anything the youth might do.

            _I wonder how he knows_… 

            "She was the only one who cared while I was growing up." He surprised himself by murmuring softly, his eyes pinning themselves back to where he'd seen the pristine white coffin last. He wondered for a moment if the Turk was going to reply, or if he was even waiting for one. 

            He decided, after a moment of silence, that the redhead wasn't going to speak. _Good._

            He stood for a few more minutes looking into the aqua depths of the reactor then turned and walked back down the ramp into the ShinRa building; it was about time he saw his new office.

-=-=-=-

            Reno followed along behind Rufus; mimicking the shadow the boy had begun to think of him as. He watched the boy closely; he'd been worried when he'd seen the way the boy had been leaning out over the reactor. He'd be in for it if the kid had jumped; _and I don't want him to do anything stupid._  

Idly he traced a faint scar on his right arm that travelled up his wrist and disappeared under his sleeve. _I know where that can lead. It's not pretty._

             The boy and his shadow made their way through the ShinRa building till they reached the main tower then quietly stepped into the elevator. Rufus swiped his key-card through the scanner and immediately the car started moving, taking them upwards to the 69th floor.

            Both men remained silent; Reno doubted anything he had to say would be appreciated so he'd better keep his mouth shut. It was as much of a surprise to him, as to the young Shinra, when he heard himself saying, "I've only ever been up this high once."

            After a tensing of his shoulders, as a first reaction to the noise, Rufus remained silent, ignoring the red-haired Turk standing behind him. 

            Reno scowled at himself. _Idiot, you keep on like this and you'll be a very unemployed Turk._  

            "I had to visit with President Shinra when I became a Turk. Nearly made my head pop, the air pressure and all." 

            Rufus slowly turned his head and peered at the Turk through a veil of unruly blonde locks, "Speak when you're spoken too, _Turk_. I have no time to exchange idle banter with the likes of… you."

            _oO, Stung. _"Yes sir." He smoothed his expression and folded his hands in front of him. _See, now that was smart. And for my next trick I'm going to jump off the side of the building and see if the air bubble between my ears will let me float gently to the ground. _

            The elevator car silently came to a halt and the doors slid open, saving Reno from anything else he or the VP may have been going to say. _Lucky save._

            The two men stepped out of the elevator and were immediately greeted by a woman in a hideous green dress suit, "Vice President Shinra! It's so marvellous to see you here! Please follow me to your office. Diane is waiting. She was your mothers secretary and she's been so hyped up to meet you." The woman gushed, all the while eyeing both Rufus and his bodyguard. The woman obviously decided that Reno was the easier target and began to cast suggestive glances in his direction.  

            Reno resisted the impulse to roll his eyes and kept his expression blank. This was just great; _now I'm going to spend my time ducking around a horny secretary. _

            The woman finally, after a short walk with her chattering the entire way, reached her target and opened the door to Rufus' new office, showing them in. Reno found one eyebrow rising as he saw the woman that was apparently Diane sitting in the VP's chair and working on a pile of documents.

            "Sir, this is Diane. Your secretary." The woman in the green suit continued to gush; Reno found an irrational urge to strangle her beginning to rise within him.

              "Why is she in my chair." The boy's words were more of a statement then a question. Reno felt for his gun, an automatic reaction when he was anticipating trouble.

            "Well… ah…" the woman faltered but was relieved by Diane herself.

            "Vice President Shinra. I apologise; this was a normal arrangement between your mother and I; to make sure work was completed." The woman tidied the documents on the desk then stepped out from behind it and nodded politely to the young man.

            Rufus stayed absolutely still and Reno felt his nerves getting so knotted that he was sure he could hear them twang. 

            "I'm not my mother; make sure this doesn't happen again. I saw that you have a desk outside my office, see to it that it's the one you use." The boy said finally and Reno felt himself relax.

            "Of course Mr. Shinra. Is there anything else you wanted?"

            Rufus thought for a moment, his head tilted slightly to one side, then he shook it slightly, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. 

            Both the women nodded slightly then sidled their ways out of the office and shut the door behind them. As soon as they where gone Rufus walked slowly over to the desk and ran his hand over the leather of the chair, a far off look in his eyes.

            Reno looked around the room then selected a spot off to one side, slightly near the door, and went over to settle himself in it. Then his lazy seeming eyes pinned to Rufus and he watched.

-=-=-=-

Rufus stared out the tall windows of his new office, his hand tracing invisible patterns on the cool, dark brown, leather of his mother's old chair. _So much of this room is her... _

            Out of the corner of his eye he watched Reno as he walked languidly over to an out-of-the-way spot and settled, leaning comfortably against the wall. _He moves so fluidly, with so much grace and power_, the thought flitted through his mind, _like a panther… but he looks like a trash heap._ A small smile tugged at the corners of Rufus' mouth then he shrugged imperceptibly and turned his once again blank gaze back out the window to stare sightlessly at the panoramic view that stretched out before him.

            _I guess it's time I learnt my new job_, the thought didn't cheer him in the least. Frowning slightly he turned and settled himself down in the chair and picked up the first pile of documents from the desk. To the boy's surprise there was a post-it note attached to the front of the first page:

_Mr Shinra,_

_                          I'm aware that you have, more then likely, not done much in the way of this kind of work before so, as your mother would have wanted me too, I have been, and will continue until told otherwise, writing notes on the front of each document to show what they are for, what you should look out for and what you should do with them. _

_                                                                                                      Diane._

            Rufus read through the note again then closed his eyes, his mother always had been a good judge of character… at least where everyone but his father was concerned. 

            Quickly Rufus screwed up the note and threw it into the trash bin then turned to the first document and it's explanatory note. He had a feeling he'd better learn everything Diane had to teach him, before his father's sycophants, or President Shinra himself, figured out he hadn't a clue what he was doing.

-=-=-=-

Reno stifled a yawn and closed his eyes lazily while contemplating sitting down on the floor; _this is almost as boring as a desk job._ Opening his eyes again he stared over at the young blonde who was head and shoulders deep in paperwork, a line furrowed across his forehead in concentration. _Cute…_But no matter how cute, this was boring. Staring down at his watch he grinned, _5 minutes till break time._

Luckily Tseng had realized that Reno couldn't stay awake to watch Rufus 24 hours a day; soon Rude would be there and Reno could go have a well-deserved 2-hour break.

Speak of the devil… 

There was a tap on the office door then Diane poked her head around the door, "Sir. There is a man here calling himself…er… Rude. He wishes to see you."

Rufus looked up at Diane frowning, "Don't open that door unless I give you permission too." Then he added almost as an after thought. "I don't know anyone called Rude, send him away." The boy went back to his work.

Just as Diane was about to shut the door Reno put his hand out and grabbed the handle, keeping it open. The woman muttered a startled exclamation then frowned as Reno stepped around the door and into her sight, "Rude's here to relieve me. Send him in."

Diane glanced at Rufus then nodded and gestured to the huge man standing outside the office. As Rude came into Reno's sight he raised an eyebrow at the redhead from behind his shades. 

With a flick of his wrist Reno said one thing, _'Don't ask.'_

The gesture was part of something the Turks had developed amongst themselves back when the organization had first started. A kind of sign language, something even President ShinRa didn't know they had.

_'Can't be that bad...' _Rude gestured back, his big hands dancing with surprising ease through the small, delicate movements.

_'Wanna bet.' _

Reno turned back to Rufus who was once again staring at the doorway, his glare cutting through Reno, to the 7 foot Turk behind him, a slight look of trepidation in his eyes.

"I thought I said to send him away?" his voice was low and deadly.

"Yes sir. He is, however, here to relieve me for 2 hours so he has to stay." Reno realised the minute the words were out of his mouth that this was the wrong tack to take with the kid. _Damn... Oh well, 'in for a penny, in for a pound', _"So if you'll excuse me sir…" He bowed quickly and nearly ran out the door shutting it behind him leaving poor Rude to face the wraith of the arrogant VP.

Now in the apparent safety of the other side of the door, Reno ginned impishly at Diane who was glaring at him, having heard the entire exchange, "He's a good kid you know. His mother always spoke highly of him; you shouldn't treat him like a spoilt brat."

Reno raised an eyebrow and perched himself on the corner of her desk, "I may have only been around him for three days but I can tell you for sure, he _is_ a spoilt brat; and I'll continue to treat him like one until he proves me otherwise.  So what were you doing at his desk this morning?"

Diane narrowed her eyes at the Turk for the sudden change of subject, "Nothing important."

Reno felt his curiosity piked, "Nothing important? You risked the fact that it may have been President Shinra himself that brought our young VP to his new office, for 'nothing important'?"

Diane glared at him, "What business is it of yours?"

"I'm his bodyguard; everything to do with him is my business." Reno replied flatly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Diane recoiled from the look; it was as if he were suddenly a hunting dog searching out his prey, a very dangerous, deadly, hunting dog.

"I was doing as his mother ordered me too. She knew something strange was going on so she ordered me to make sure Rufus knew what he was doing as VP if something happened to her."

"She knew something was up?"

Diane nodded.

"And you were doing what, exactly, to make sure Rufus knew what he was doing?"

"I'm writing notes on the documents. Explaining what they are, what they're for and what he should do with them."

For the first time Reno noticed that all the documents on Diane's desk had post-it notes stuck to the front of them.

He paused for a moment, leaning towards Diane slightly, his eyes nearly shut then suddenly stood up straight, a breezy smile lighting up his handsome face, "Stick the notes in the middle of the documents so they aren't noticeable." Then he disappeared down the hallway, heading for the elevators.

-=-=-=-

Rufus sat blinking at the door the red haired Turk had disappeared out of. It took him a moment to realise the huge bald Turk that was standing just inside the door was trying to get his attention.

"Huh?" Rufus said intelligently.

"Sir. I apologize for Reno, he should have informed you of this." 

Rufus stared at him for a moment then his eyes narrowed, "Yes, he should have; is there anything else I should know about?"

"…. Midnight till dawn." Rude stated moving to the same spot Reno had been in earlier and standing at attention.

Rufus blinked at the giant, trying to wrap his brain around the statement, "What?"

"I relieve Reno every night from Midnight till dawn."

"Oh… Why?"

"Sleep."

Rufus suddenly realised that getting information from this huge man was going to be like squeezing water from a rock.

"And why exactly can't he just sleep where he is?"

Rufus suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the Turk turned to stare at him from behind his shades, saying nothing.

Rufus scowled at the man then ignored him to get back to his paper work. _This is insufferable. Now I have _two_ Bodyguards. This won't do; I'll have to see Tseng._

Without a word Rufus rose to his feet and walked around the largish desk and headed for the door, Rude barely three steps behind him.

-=-=-=-

Reno dived around in his pocket, searching for the right amount of change for the damned drinks machine he'd found himself stuck in front of, a soft string of curses flowing from his mouth as he searched; trust him to leave the correct change at home today.

As he searched a white clad arm reached over his shoulder and slotted some gil into the machine. Reno heard the sound of his drink falling through the slot but he ignored it to turn and glare at the person behind him, he'd just fastened his best 'who the hell do you think you are' glare on his face however, when he realised who was standing behind him.

"Professor Hojo!" He stood in shock for a moment, his face completely white, staring at almost every ShinRa employees living nightmare, who stared straight back at him, a look of mild fascination on his face.

"Are you going to take your drink, _Turk_?" He asked after a moment, pausing before the last word then putting a small amount of emphasis on it.

Reno simply stared at the man in front of him for a moment then gathered his addling wits about him, "Yeah..." He managed to stutter out.

He found himself staring into the cold, mako tinted, eyes before him; his mind conjuring up images he wished it wouldn't. He felt pinned where he stood by those terrifying eyes… _Like I'm pinned down naked on an operating table being poked and prodded to see how I work._ He suppressed an involuntary shudder and inched backwards from the man before him, pressing his back up against the drinks machine.

"Quickly now; you're holding up the line." Hojo's face was now forming a slight frown, a look Reno knew instantly.

"Ah…right!" The red haired Turk snapped into action; years of experience had taught him better then to go against that look. He dived down and grabbed the drink from the holder then half ran back to where his lunch waited on an empty table at the back of the cafeteria.

Barely tasting the sandwich that he hurriedly ate, or the drink that he may as well have skulled, Reno lost himself in his thoughts; dark memories he'd thought he'd banished long ago filtering into his mind. He didn't know how long he sat staring down at his hands, which rested on the table in front of him, his mind lost in a time he loathed remembering. The crowds of employees that had been swarming the cafeteria when Reno had arrived had long since thinned by the time he was jolted out of his thoughts by a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Startled Reno jumped, turned slightly and grabbed the hand at the wrist, holding it in a grip that could break bones in a second if he willed it; glaring he looked up at the person who had disturbed him. And saw Rude.

"Damnit Rude!" He muttered releasing the hand and turning to glare at the tabletop before him.

"Your late." The big man stated in his normal, near monosyllabic, way.

"What?!" Reno started at his wristwatch swearing then leapt to his feet, "What are you doing here anyway?" he demanded suddenly realising that Rude was missing a certain blonde annoyance, "Where's Rufus?"

Rude looked at Reno expressionlessly, "Tseng."

Reno's eyebrows rose, "What's he doing up there?"

Quickly the two men began to walk out of the cafeteria and headed to the elevators. Reno was used to asking questions to thin air when he was with Rude so he wasn't surprised when the big man simply ignored the question and stepped into the lift with Reno right behind him.

"Give you any trouble?" Reno asked trying to figure out exactly why Rufus would be with Tseng, "Or is he complaining about my being late getting back? Tseng probably wouldn't be pleased about that." He continued, making enough conversation for the both them, as he normally did. "Could be a bonus if the kid wants to get rid of me, I could certainly handle not having to baby-sit the brat anymore."

 Out of the corner of his eye Reno noticed Rude raising an amused eyebrow at him. Now Rude didn't often lower himself to mere expression and Reno had learnt, over his many years of working with him, how to read the few expressions the man did make. This one said 'You have it so wrong it's not funny and I can't wait to see your reaction to this, 'cause it's ganna be a riot.' Reno decided to be worried. Very worried.

-=-=-=-

Rufus leaned back in the only comfortable chair in Tseng's office and put his feet up on the desk and watched Tseng, who stood in front of the desk as if he were in Rufus' office and not the other way around, under his mass of blonde fringe.

In one elegant movement he swiped his hair back, out of his eyes, and levelled a cool gaze at the Turk before him.

"…I wasn't the one who decided to have Turks guarding me. If you're having staffing problems then talk to Heidiggar, it's not my concern." Rufus noted Tseng's iron control break slightly, a muscle twitching near his mouth. Rufus continued, "Actually I'm doing you a favour. This way you only have to worry about having one of your people off active duty, as it were, instead of two or three of them having to run around trying to find me." Rufus looked up at Tseng, a slight smile playing around his lips; this was the one aspect of being the vice president of ShinRa that he was going to like.

As Rufus waited for Tseng to think of something to say there was a polite cough and a knock at the door; Rufus looked past Tseng to see the huge Turk, Rude, standing in the doorway.

"Geez you lump! Get out of the way!" came the irritated complaint behind him. Rude didn't move.

With an indifferent look Rufus waved the big man in. Rude walked in and took up a position to one side of the door and Reno, a slightly suspicious look hovering on his face, came in behind him. 

"Well?" The redhead demanded the second he was in the door then collapsed into one of the rooms padded chairs; ignoring the fact that the other Turks were on their feet. Rufus mentally frowned.

In front of Rufus, Tseng closed his eyes in an unconscious look of long suffering embarrassment. 

Rufus raised an eyebrow at Tseng when the man opened his eyes; Tseng frowned but turned his head slightly in Reno's direction. 

"Your orders have been changed. You'll be moving into Vice President ShinRa's apartment with him in order to keep a 24/7 watch on him, starting as of now. To last on an indefinite basis until, or if, further orders are given."

Reno stared at Tseng as if he hadn't heard right, "I'm sorry," his tone had the sound of a man just told something beyond his scope of comprehension, "I thought I just heard you say I had to baby-sit the brat for the rest of my life."

Rufus felt himself blush bright red and he suddenly felt an overwhelming anger start in the pit of his stomach.

Tseng paled noticeably and turned to level an iron glare at his underling. 

"Reno." He said simply, the underlying threat in his voice made the redhead pale.

Reno's eyes turned to Rufus, who was now standing and attempting to resist the urge to leap forward and strangle the breath out of the rumpled Turk, then he quietly rose from the chair and stood perfectly at attention, "Yes sir!" He said sharply, turning his gaze back to Tseng, a promise of retribution showing quite clearly in his expression.

Tseng stared at Reno for a moment longer then turned back to Rufus who had finally managed to regain _most_ of his composure.

"Will there be anything further, sir?"

Rufus glared at Tseng then brushed his hair back out of his eyes with the back of his hand, "No. See to it that the Turk and his things are sorted out, until then I'll take the large Turk."

With that Rufus brushed passed the two men and out the door and Rude quickly followed behind, flashing one lone gesture back at Reno.

_'You're in for it now.'_

-=-=-=-

"Do you _know_ how much trouble you almost got _all_ of us into?!" Tseng demanded the moment his office door was closed.

Reno flopped back down into the chair he'd been in earlier and decided to counter with a question, "What was he doing here?"

Tseng's eyes narrowed as he moved around his desk and sat back in his own chair, "He didn't seem to like the idea of being guarded by the entire Turk ranks."

Reno frowned and glared through scraggly fringe at his superior, "I got that; but _what_ was he doing _here_?"

Tseng sighed and leant back in his chair, "I have no idea, Rude said he just," Tseng gestured helplessly, "came; apparently his keycard has clearance for this level."

"Tseng, even the President doesn't have clearance for this level."

"I am fully aware of that."

"So how come the brats card does?"

Tseng glared across the table, annoyance written over every line of his face, "I don't know; it eludes me completely in fact. All I can imagine is that perhaps Heidiggar gave it to him, except that I don't even think _he_ knows about this floor."

Reno paused then asked, "Where did he get his keycard?"

Tseng lifted an eyebrow, "Same place as everyone else I'd imagine."

Reno breathed out, knocking his fringe out of his eyes, and looked at Tseng speculatively, "Got all his mothers things didn't he?"

Tseng's eyes narrowed, "A possibility. But if it was hers… how did she get access to this floor?"

Reno shrugged, "I think a little more active investigating of this woman is required." He suddenly frowned sourly, "Which I now won't be able to help with; what on earth possessed you?"

Tseng pulled his mind back from speculating about the late VP and pinned his gaze to Reno, "It was either that or no bodyguard at all. I haven't been able to track down much of anything in the way of solid information yet and I need him still guarded. And I really didn't want to risk him going straight to his father."

"I don't see why we're bothering; he's a spoilt little brat. In a few years he'll be no better then his father." Reno snorted dismissively.

Tseng's eyes instantly became pools of icy blankness, "Because if anything happens to him this close to his mothers death it's _us_ who will get the blame." Slowly he leaned forward, the look on his face making Reno wish he could fall through his chair and hide behind it, "I won't let my department be held responsible for anymore of the presidents bungled dealings."

 Reno decided it was a bad time to point out that it was really Heidiggar's department and closed his teeth firmly on his tongue, "So I'm stuck with him?"

Tseng nodded shortly, "Take it as punishment for embarrassing, not just me, but our entire department today."

Reno rolled his eyes and groaned, "Oh come on, it was just the brat; we don't have to snivel around him, he hasn't got the guts to do anything to us if we don't."

"I would prefer not to have to take the chance, Reno. And for your sake you should make sure you don't annoy him to badly; if you're not in this department…" Tseng left the sentence unfinished but Reno blanched anyway; clearly understanding what Tseng was getting at.

"Don't worry," Reno's tone was uncharacteristically serious, "I'd far sooner be killed then 'fired'." He paused then grinned wolfishly, "Besides, I could do worse then having to spend my time around his lordship. He's very nice on the eyes and three steps behind him is perfect to…"

"Reno!" 

Reno laughed and pushed himself out of his chair, "Stop being such a prude."

Tseng ignored the comment, "Hands off, Reno. I won't warn you twice." 

Reno winked and stuffed a hand in his pocket, "Don't worry, I'm not _that_ insane. At least not yet."

Tseng scowled at Reno's back as the younger Turk disappeared out the door then slumped back in his chair. He somehow got the impression his life was going to get a whole lot harder. 

-----

Vanyel. Please R&R!!

-----


	3. Moonlit Memories

***Disclaimer* - **I don't own them; I don't own anything to do with them, and I NEVER WILL!! *Runs off crying*

***

 Reno stared around him at his new, tidy, little room in Rufus' apartment and found himself grinding his teeth. _Rude knew this was going to happen. Why didn't he say something? Anything!_

He found himself picking nervously at the bedspread that covered the single bed and tried to still his hands. He hated being locked in, and he had the distinct feeling that, even if the doors themselves were unlocked, he was worse then simply locked in.

He suddenly found himself on his feet and began pacing across the small guest room. _No, not guest room. I'm no guest._

"How the hell did I get into this?" He muttered under his breath, "Was it the speaking out of turn in the lift? Along with the lateness??" He turned around when he reached the door and paced back the other way, "No. It can't have been. He wouldn't want to keep me around if that had seriously bothered him. So what the HELL is it!?"

He found himself glaring furiously at the bed, its white bedspread looking wrinkled where Reno had been sitting on it earlier. The man's eyes glanced down the bed to where his now empty packs were strewn on the floor, and past them, to the dresser that now had everything he'd brought with him in or around it. The eyes that looked barely saw then scene however. Eyes unfocused and the mind wandered off, suddenly remembering an earlier time. When he'd lived in a room much like this one. Pale-white wallpaper reminded of sterile white walls. Soft, cream coloured, carpet reminded of hard, unforgiving, white-plastic lino. Sterile white walls and unforgiving floors reminded him of sleepless nights, staring into the pitch darkness of the room, either in pain or waiting in terror for someone who might be coming to give him some…   

_This is ridiculous_. With an almost angry shake of his head, Reno pulled his mind back to where he was and began to peel himself out of his clothes, till he was down to his boxers. Then pushed back the blankets on his new bed and climbed in. He may as well get used to it, because it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Almost immediately he drifted off into an exhausted, uneasy sleep. 

****

Rufus was also in his room pacing from bed to wall, then back again.

"Brat! I'm not a brat! How dare he! I give him the opportunity to have an easy job and he calls me a brat! The crude, ungrateful, unsophisticated, slob!" With a growl he knocked a few things off his dresser and scowled when nothing broke, "Baby-sit! He doesn't need to baby-sit me, I can take care of myself!

"If it weren't for the fact that I can't appropriate the head of the Turks, and that man mountain," he paled when he thought of the huge man that was Rude, "… bothers me slightly, I wouldn't even _have_ him here. Why on earth has father assigned him to me anyway!?"

Irritated, he pushed his hair out of his eyes with the back of his hand and began to pull his clothes off and throw them on the end of the bed, muttering the entire time.

"I am going to make his life HELL, the bastard. I am NOT a brat and I don't need a babysitter!" As he spoke he started trying to yank his boots off and with the last word yanked it hard and toppled over on his rump with an undignified yelp.

For a moment Rufus sat on the floor at the end of his bed, with his boot in his hands and a startled look on his face. Then he blinked and blushed hotly.

Immediately he began cursing himself for blushing, when there wasn't anyone there to see him anyway, and began to climb to his feet. _I hope Reno didn't hear that._ He felt himself blushing hotter and hoped to the Ancients the red-haired Turk hadn't heard. _Last thing I need is him barging in here to see what's going on._

With another curse, and a wary glance to his half open door, he threw the boot on the floor then pulled the other one off and threw it down too. He was about to slide his pants off when he thought better of leaving the door open and pushed it shut, then finished getting out of his clothes and hit the light switch, plunging the room into immediate darkness.

From memory Rufus walked across the room to his bed and climbed in, settling himself and pulling the blankets up around his chin.

"Stupid Turk." He muttered to himself again for emphasis then tightly shut his eyes in an attempt to sleep.

He expected himself to fall asleep immediately; after all he hadn't slept at all in the past three days, but for some reason sleep was eluding him. 

Growling he punched his pillow and turned over trying to find a more comfortable position.  

As he lay there, his thoughts attempting to wind down after the three days of no sleep, Rufus found himself going over the last couple of days again. Now somehow it seemed abstract, like he was apart from it all. 

As he thought on it his father's words came back to him, _"You had better do a better job then she did, or I got rid of her for nothing."___

_What did he mean 'do a better job'? She did a great job, he knew that. She was the one that kept the company together a lot of the time…_ Which meant something was going on. Had his mother been doing something she shouldn't have, stealing money maybe? Rufus thought of everything he knew about his mother then shook his head slightly against his pillow. _She wouldn't do something like that. The old man though… _So maybe she had found out about something President Shinra was up too. Sounded likely.

_So maybe I should keep my eyes open. He killed her for a reason. I think I'm going to make it my business to find out what it was._

Sighing Rufus felt his eyelids grow heavy and he thankfully shut them and began to fade into some much needed sleep, his last coherent thoughts fading to the back of his brain as his weary body finally took control.

_I'll get you old man. And when I do, you'll be sorry._

****

The boy lay huddled in bed, the blankets pulled up tightly around his chin. He shivered. The room was freezing, it always was. He'd gotten used to it. As he shivered his body began to ache and point out that bits of it hurt. The boy ignored it, he'd gotten used to that too. And it didn't hurt so much at the moment. It could have been worse, much _much_ worse. 

Pulling the thin blankets more tightly around him, the boy sniffed and bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to make any noise. Sometimes they heard him and then they'd come in. He didn't like it when they came in, that always meant more pain. And it would mean he'd have to go see… Him. 

His mind shied away from the unpleasant thoughts that came to him whenever he thought of Him. He had to sleep, then he could make it go away. The pain, the cold, Him. It all went away when he was sleeping. He wanted to sleep.

He shut his eyes tightly and tried to think of nothing, let his mind go blank. It always let him sleep doing that. This time was no exception and soon he was drifting off into a much-needed slumber…

Only to be awoken abruptly by a hand wrapping around his arm and jerking him up, out of his warmish cocoon on the bed.

"Wha…?" He questioned sleepily, trying to figure out what was going on. He'd been having such a nice dream. He'd been in an open place with lots of flowers. He was safe there and the flowers had been so pretty, he wanted to go back to the dream. Sleepily he tried to struggle in the tight grip but was suddenly shocked into full wakefulness by a sharp slap across his face.

"Speak only when you're spoken too, Brat! And do as your told. Stand up!"

Terrified, the boy scrambled to his feet beside his small cot and wrapped his arms around his chest as he stared up at the person that had awoken him. It was a cruel faced man, in a white coat. The boy knew this one, he'd have to be careful, do everything he was told to do as quickly as possible.

The man examined the boy, looking him up and down and frowning. Eventually he turned, scowling, and began to walk from the room.

"Come!" He demanded sharply.

Eyes wide, the boy scampered after him, doing his best to not trip on the slippery floors. He'd get hit if he did.

The cruel-faced man led the boy through many twisting, winding, blindingly white corridors and the boy's mind began to go numb with fear as he stumbled after him, trying to keep up.

He knew this. He didn't recognise the corridors, but he knew where he was going. He only ever went for long trips when he was being taken to see Him.

Dully he looked around himself at the rooms they passed; maybe he could find a place to hide…

Abruptly the man in front of the boy stopped walking and the boy had to catch himself quickly before he bumped into him. That would be very VERY bad.

As the boy watched the man began to punch in codes into a computer terminal. The boy was familiar with this; they had to put in lots of codes to get the doors open. 

As he waited the boy began to look over the rooms again and saw a group of the scary, white coated, people gathered around something in a room to his left. Curious, and for the moment forgetting the cursing man that was leading him, he crept towards the door to see what was going on.

At first the boy couldn't see anything, then one of the scary people moved and walked to the other side of the room. The boy stifled a gasp.

Sitting, looking dejected, was a boy with long silver hair. As the boy watched the silver-haired boy turned and looked at him and their eyes met. For a moment-shared fear, torment, and dreams passed between them, then the boy was grabbed from behind and slapped sharply. 

The Boy stifled a gasp of pain as he was dragged from the room and through the now opened security doors.

As they walked the painful hand was not removed from the boy's arm and he was half carried half dragged through the sterile halls till they reached their goal.

With a snarl at the boy the cruel-faced man pushed him though the door they had stopped at, then stood there, looking as evil as the boy had ever seen him.

Fearfully the boy looked up at the man who stood with his back to him. 

His back didn't stay turned for long though. Slowly the man turned and made a gesture at the cruel-faced man, who shut the door and left, then looked down at the boy.

"Ahhh, Reno. We have much to do today."

****

Reno awoke with a gasp and the feel of a hand on his shoulder.

Still muzzy from sleep and the dream/memory Reno lashed out at whoever was beside him, sending them flying across the room to crash against the wall with a pain-filled gasp, then to slump against the floor, breathing harshly at the sudden, unexpected, pain.

Trying to figure out where he was and what was happening, Reno struggled up out of his tangled, sweat soaked blankets and stared around till his eyes fell on the form across the room.

In the half-light that was streaming in the window Reno's eyes narrowed then he suddenly realised who it was.

"Oh SHIT!"

He struggled up quickly and stumbled across the room and helped a pale Rufus to sit up. 

Growling Reno cursed under his breath as he ran his hands along the boy's ribs to makes sure he hadn't broken any, then ran a practised eye over the rest of him, checking for injuries.

After a moment of trying to get his breathing back under control Rufus managed to speak.

"Ouch!"

Reno sat back on his heels and looked at the half naked blonde before him, _well who would have guessed, got him in my room and half naked on my first night here. Hope I didn't hurt him though. _

"What are you doing in here?" He demanded as the boy looked up at him slightly unfocused.

Instantly the boy's eyes focused and he glared at Reno, "What do you mean by that? It's MY apartment, I can go where I like in it."

"NOT in here. The room's mine which now makes it off limits. Or you'll get hurt worse then you did this time." Reno's eyes narrowed, "WHAT were you doing in here?" He repeated.

Rufus looked off to the side suddenly, a light blush coating his cheeks.

"I woke up and heard you cry out and came to see what was wrong. You looked like you were having a bad dream, so I woke you up." I bit of heat came into his voice, "If I had have known you were going to throw me across the room then interrogate me I wouldn't have bothered."

Reno crouched, blinking at the boy for a moment or two then decided not to question it, _never know. Maybe that secretary of his was right._

"Word of advice. If you EVER have to wake me up again, do it like this." He reached out and grabbed Rufus' left shoulder and shook him three times, paused, then shook twice more. "It's a code. It means it's a friend that's waking me up and that all's safe."

Rufus' eyes narrowed slightly, "So I just grab your shoulder and shake you three times, then twice?"

Reno nodded, "The LEFT shoulder. If you do the same on the other side it means it's a friend and get ready cause there's going to be trouble."

Rufus nodded slightly then looked to where Reno's hand was still on his bare shoulder and blushed slightly, then glared at Reno who hastily retrieved his hand. Swiftly, before Rufus could say anything, the redhead stood and grabbed his robe from the end of the bed and threw it at the boxer clad boy, then untangled one of his blankets from the mess on the bed and draped it idly around his waist.

"So what time is it?" He asked, settling himself on the bed and leaning back against the wall, his half slitted eyes watching Rufus pull the robe on and wrap it around himself tightly.

"Uhm," Rufus finished tying the robe and sat back down on the floor across the room from Reno, "I think it as about 3am. What were you dreaming about?"

Reno stiffened immediately then forced himself to relax and cast a lopsided grin in Rufus' direction, "Nothing really. Nothing important anyway."

Rufus frowned, he'd noticed Reno's reaction, "You're lying." He stated simply and glared across the room.

Reno glared straight back, "Does it matter? It was just a dream." He muttered to himself as he looked down at his hands where he had begun to pick at the blanket that covered his legs, "Just a silly reoccurring dream." 

Rufus frowned, "Reoccurring? You've had it before? And if it's nothing then you should have no problem telling me about it."

Reno looked back up at the boy and glared. And Rufus glared straight back.

The two of them sat immobile for a few moments, testing each other's will, seeing who would break first. It seemed that neither of them were willing to break the cold look that was passing between them, and then out of nowhere Reno started laughing.

Blinking slightly confused Rufus stared up to the bed and at the man wrapped in the blanket that was suddenly holding his side and laughing uncontrollably.

"Wha… why are you laughing?" He asked, confused.

"S…sorry…" Reno gasped and held up his left hand slightly in supplication, his right hand still wrapped around his ribs.

From where Reno sat, doing his best to stop laughing, he saw Rufus' mouth tighten again in a slight frown and he started to glare at the man again.

Attempting to hold back a wide grin, Reno took a deep breath then let it out slowly, pulling his training into play. _Damn he looks cute when he's glaring like that._ He found himself thinking irrelevantly then chuckled once more and looked over at the boy, his eyes twinkling.

"Well?!" He demanded once the Turk had himself under control.

Reno felt another smile trying to grab a hold of him but managed to suppress it.

"Nothing _sir,_" he put emphasis on the title, "nothing at all."

 Rufus blinked for a moment then took a moment to really look at the scene that was playing out. _Sir? Shit!_

Slowly a deep blush swept across Rufus cheeks and dived downwards to heat the rest of him, _THIS is not done. He's my bodyguard and here I am sitting on his floor in the middle of the night asking him to tell me what he dreams about!_

"I… ah… better go." He stood up quickly and headed to the door then paused and began to fiddle with the tie on the robe trying to get it open.

"Give it back in the morning." The Turk suggested and with little more then a nod Rufus nearly ran out the door and back to his own room.

Reno watched him go, a slight, unidentifiable, smile gracing his lips. "Cute kid." He muttered to himself and began to straighten himself out to sleep again, "Far to self-important though. But I bet I can fix that in no time."

****

This is short, R&R!! I love feedback so much that when I get it… I write faster!

~Vanyel


	4. Schemes Unraveling

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy 7; I do not own Reno, Rufus, Rude, or Tseng. I DO own the irritating Secretary, the outfit she is wearing, and the hole in Rufus' roof. Somehow I get the feeling I got the short end of the stick…****

****

**Chapter 4**

Rufus woke up feeling like his eyes were either filled with gravel, cemented together, or both.

Groaning softly he lifted his heavy head off of the pillow and rubbed at his raw eyes, trying to make them work, or to at least open. He yawned then gave up and let himself fall back into the folds of his pillow, screwing his eyes shut tighter, determined to ignore that fact that it was daylight, and go straight back to sleep.

He was dozing off quite pleasantly in fact when he suddenly found himself sitting bolt upright, and blinking trying to figure out how he'd gotten there.

"…Damnit Rude! You coulda _said_ it was loaded!!" came the yell from the other room and Rufus realised it had been the sound of a gunshot that had jolted him from his dreaming.

Stopping only to grab the robe on the end of his bed and throw it over his shoulders, Rufus ran out of his room to be greeted by a sight he was _sure_ didn't happen everyday. Reno and Rude were standing by the coffee table in the centre of a selection of guns that made the ShinRa armoury look bare.

Rufus managed to pry his eyes away from the guns and stared at Reno, and the man-mountain Rude, and saw that they were staring upwards. Rufus numbly let his eyes follow their gaze upwards to see his newly acquired skylight, bits and pieces of mortar still sifting down to lay on the shoulders of the two men below it.

Rufus felt his mouth open and close speechlessly as he stared at the hole in the roof then suddenly he found his voice.

"What the _hell_ are you two doing?!?"

Reno jumped slightly and turned to face Rufus, an automatic shotgun in his hands and a guilty look on his face.

"Just a little redecorating." He said trying to sound nonchalant and gesturing at the roof, "Don't you think a little sun coming in just here makes the room look a little brighter?"  

Rufus simply glared at Reno and the man went a little pale.

"No? Well I guess I should go get someone to fix that up then." He started making his way to the door, "I'll just be…"

"Hold it _right there_." Rufus' voice was deceptively calm, and Reno froze in place. "No-one is going _anywhere_ till one of you tells me exactly what you thought you were doing with all these guns."

 There was a moment of silence, "Looking…" Reno shot a dirty look in Rude's direction. "I didn't expect them to be loaded." 

Rufus stared at Reno till the man started to get uncomfortable, "'Looking'? It looks like you've got the entire ShinRa armoury in here and then some! That's a lot for just 'looking'!"

Reno shrugged and decided to try logic; hey sometimes it worked, "We're Turks, it's our job to look at stuff like this."

"In _my_ apartment?"

"Well I can't exactly go somewhere else." Reno unloaded the shotgun he was still holding then threw it on the couch, "If you must know, this is a haul from a terrorist group from sector 4. We had to go over them and two of us is faster then one." Reno ignored the look Rude was directing at him and gestured at the armament selection, "Either way we're finished."

Rufus glared at the red headed Turk then pinned his gaze on Rude, "Go find someone to repair that," he pointed at the hole in his roof, "then both of you get this mess cleaned up."

With another glare at Reno, Rufus turned and walked back into his room intent on getting dressed so he could get out of the apartment while the unexpected repairs were being made.

He'd just shut the door and leaned back on it, attempting to regain his control on his irritation at Reno, when he heard the rumble of voices through the door. 

"Reno," the slightly muffled voice was Rude', "please tell me there is a _very_ good reason why Rufus is wearing your robe."

Rufus looked down at himself and groaned, _Great, just great._

****

Reno glared at Rude. _This is not good, how do I get out of this one? Should I tell him the truth? Would he believe me? _"He's borrowing it. Don't you have to go get some builders or something?" he quickly started picking up some of the guns and storing them back in their packs.

Rude didn't look too much like he was being distracted. His eye's never leaving Reno, he began picking up the guns nearest him and putting them away.

"Why is he borrowing it?" Rude didn't talk much, but when your Bosses son, and that's a boss that would be willing to pick you up and throw you out of the 70th floor window, just to see if you bounce at the bottom, appears before you, wearing his bodyguards robe, you know it's time to exceed your word quota for the year and find out exactly what was happening.

Reno ignored the question in favour of cleaning up, but felt Rude's eyes burrowing into the back of his head. _Ok… So he's going to bug me till I say something to reassure him…_

"Well you know. He was half naked at the time, looked a little cold." _Eh… that didn't sound too reassuring._

Reno noticed that the sounds of cleaning behind him had stopped and he turned to see Rude staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Rude's staring was beginning to make Reno nervous, "Hello? Earth to Rude," He waved hand in front of the big man's face, "come in Rude, why are you staring at me like I just pulled on a chocobo outfit and started doing a hula?"_ Huh… bad choice of description. Didn't I do that at the last office party? Well that'll explain how I recognise that look…_

"Reno… you didn't…" Rude began, then rephrased what he was about to say, "Reno if you seduce that kid I'll personally chop you into small pieces and feed you to the Midgar Zolom." Rude stated in the calm, deadly voice he was feared through most of ShinRa for.

Reno froze, the gun he'd been picking up dropping from his hand in shock, "If I _what_?? Are you in_sane_?!" his voice was getting louder with every word, "Geez! Sure he's cute Rude, gorgeous even, but I do _not_ have _that_ much of a death wish." He threw his hands up in the air, "Why don't I just throw myself off the top of the ShinRa tower _now_ and be done with it?" Reno felt himself blushing unaccountably and growled.

"Man Rude, if he even _knew_ we were discussing this he'd flip a gasket, and I'm sure Tseng would be thrilled to find he's the only Turk left in our department." 

"You might consider lowering your voice then." Rude said raising an eyebrow then leaning over to continue picking up the mess they'd made. With a reaction like that, he was sure no funny business had gone on. 

Reno froze and stared at the door Rufus had disappeared behind.

"You think he heard us?" 

Rude grunted, but otherwise ignored such an obvious question.

"Damn…"

Then the door that was under Reno's scrutiny opened and Rufus stepped out.

****

Rufus pulled on his clothes slowly as he listened to the hushed voices on the other side of the door.

What on earth could Rude be thinking had happened? Sure it was embarrassing to be caught wearing subordinates' clothes, but the giant Turk sounded so deathly serious.

As Rufus pulled his vest on over the rest of his clothes he moved closer to the door to hear them better.

"Reno… you didn't…" There was a pause, _didn't? Didn't what?_ "Reno if you seduce that kid I'll personally chop you into small pieces and feed you to the Midgar Zolom."

Rufus froze, his fingers stilling as it fastened the last button on his vest. 

_S…Seduce? Seduce?! _Rufus' mind shut down and he stared at the door in front of him in shock. 

Outside the door the conversation continued but Rufus hardly heard it, _Seduce…that would mean he's…No. Things like that didn't happen… _The conversation tuned back in again.

"…You in_sane_?! Geez! Sure he's cute Rude, gorgeous even, but I do _not_ have _that_ much of a death wish. Why don't I just throw myself off the top of the ShinRa tower _now_ and be done with it? Man Rude, if he even _knew_ we were discussing this he'd flip a gasket, and I'm sure Tseng would be thrilled to find he's the only Turk left in our department." 

Rufus blinked then finished fastening the last button on his vest and calmly smoothed the piece of clothing down.

I didn't just hear what I thought I heard. I'm either still sound asleep, or I'm imagining things from my shock at seeing a hole in my roof.

"You think he heard us?"

Rufus picked up his coat from where it lay across a chair and pulled it on, fastening the buttons then straightened the cuffs.

"Damn…"

Rufus pushed his hair back out of his eyes with the back of his hand then opened the door of his room and stepped out to look with a blank expression at a deathly pale Reno.

The room descended into silence, then Rufus narrowed his eyes at Rude.

"I believe I gave an order to do with fixing that hole in my roof?" He said mildly. The kind of mild that made you desperately wish you were on the other side of the planet.

"Sir." Rude grunted then, with a last glance at Reno, left the apartment.

Rufus glanced around the room slowly then gestured at Reno and began walking towards the door, "Come. I have things to do at the office."

For a moment Reno stood silent, "But it's Sunday."

Rufus ignored him and continued walking from the apartment. Reno ran to catch up.

****

 There were more people in the building then Reno would have expected, at least a small workforce in each department, and twice the amount of normal security.

They had been stopped at almost every doorway along the way, and Reno was sure that if they were stopped one more time, Rufus was going to throw who ever it was out of the nearest window.

Well how many more people can their be, that last guy said that normally no-one is aloud up this high on a Sunday so it should be a case of 'out of the elevator, down the corridor, into the office'. No stops.

As Reno finished the thought, the elevator came to a stop on the 69th floor and the doors slowly slid open.

Quickly the two men stepped out and Reno glanced around as he followed Rufus through the foyer, _So far, so good. Not a soul in… spoke to soon._

"Vice-President Rufus! Whatever are _you _doing here today? Is there anything you need? I can get it for you. Do you need help with anything?"

Reno groaned silently, _great the horny secretary. And… what on earth is she wearing? _Reno blinked at the woman and moved his eyes to the pieces of fabric that covered the windows he could see, _by the life stream… she matches the damned curtains!_

Rufus marched past the woman without bothering to even glance at her, and headed for his office.

"Vice-President Rufus? Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? A Soda? Breakfast?" The woman chased after them, prattling enough to give even Reno a headache.

They had just reached Rufus' office when the woman slid in front of them.

"Let me get that door for you Mr ShinRa, are you absolutely sure I can't get you anything, a glass of water? Anything, Sir?"

Rufus froze in front of the woman who was blocking their way, then gestured at Reno, "If she doesn't get out of my way in the next three seconds, throw her out the window."

Reno blinked and the secretary blanched.

"Uhm, excuse me sir. I just remembered some urgent work I need to get to. Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything!" The woman slid out from in front of the two men then nearly ran back the way they had come. 

Reno hid a smile; the kid had flare if nothing else, _would have made an excellent Turk._

"Stay out here." Rufus made a vague 'stay' gesture at Reno then entered his office shutting the door behind him.

Reno stood stock still, startled.

_What am I? A Puppy?_

Reno flopped himself down in Diane's chair, and put his feet up on the desk.

_'Sit. Reno, sit.' Good boy. Stay…_ Putting his hands behind his head, Reno leaned back in the chair and made himself comfortable, closing his eyes, _and if you're a good boy, maybe later I'll take you for a walk! Aren't you just the best little doggy in the world! _Grunting in disgust he let himself drop into a light doze.

****

Rufus threw himself down in his chair and glared at the top of his desk, obviously he hadn't lied to Reno when he'd said he had work to do. He cursed; _well it'll all have to wait until tomorrow. I have bigger things to do today. _He glanced up at the door hesitantly, _and if I'm lucky, Shadow out there won't take it in his head he needs to be in _here.

One eye still on the door, he stood and began to straighten the piles of paperwork on his desk, searching the room briefly with his eyes, looking for anything that seemed out of place. 

Today he was going to begin what he'd thought of the night before, finding out why old man ShinRa had had his former Vice-President killed. And first on the order of business was finding her personal documents. Anything that she would have had hidden that could tell him where to begin searching.

Biting his bottom lip he straightened from his now orderly desk and surveyed the office again, _this is going to take forever._

****

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Reno stated flatly, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Oh… I…Ahhh…" The voice was slightly high pitched and feminine, "I was just going to take Vice-President Rufus a drink."

Reno conceded to opening a single eye and stared impassively at the woman standing by Rufus' office door, a steaming cup of something in one hand and the other still wrapped around the door handle.

"Bad idea." Reno said, "If you open that door. I'll have to shoot you."

The woman's eyes went wider and she stepped away from the door, wrapping both hands around the cup of drink.

"You… you wouldn't…?"

 Reno took his feet off the desk and stood up, stretching, then pulled his gun from it's holster, spun it on his finger and then pointed it straight at her, "Well, orders _are_ orders. You understand right?"

The woman 'eeped' and fled back down the hall to her station at the front desk.

Reno snorted and put his gun away, "Where did she get the fabric to make that outfit anyway? And why would she even _want_ to?"

He flopped back down into his chair and began to chew on a nail.

_Wonder if the kid's still mad at me for putting the hole in his roof. It's not like it was my fault though…Maybe I should put my head round the door and check on him, it's not like anything could get in there this high up… better safe then sorry._

Decision made, Reno climbed lightly to his feet and walked around the desk, to the door, and silently pushed it open.

The sight that greeted him startled him to say the least. The room was in a shambles. Rufus had pulled books off shelves, plants off tables and any furniture he could move was in the centre of the room. Rufus himself was perched on a brightly polished table, stretching up to run his hands through an air duct that was slightly to far up the wall for him to reach easily.

 Glancing around the room again Reno didn't know what to think, _spring cleaning in reverse? Maybe he thinks the room is bugged, or maybe… hmmm, I think I was right, if he's doing what I think he's doing he _would_ have made a good Turk._ Curious, he stepped further into the room and shut the door quietly behind him, then coughed.

Rufus' reaction would have been comical if Reno wasn't certain that he'd just forfeited his job and probably his chances of growing any older.

The boy leapt nearly halfway up the wall in fright and came down facing Reno, his back pressed hard against the wall.

"Reno?" His eyes were wide as saucers till he figured out that it was indeed Reno, then his face dropped into a glare, "I thought I told you to wait outside?"

Reno nodded, "Just checking up, Sir." His eyes travelled around the messy office again then settled on Rufus quizzically, "What are you doing?" 

****

"Just checking up, Sir." The Turks eyes travelled around the shambles Rufus had made of his office, then settled on the young VP with a raised eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

Rufus glared at Reno and he knew he was blushing.

"None of your business. Get out!" _So I can put everything back together. Damn, what a mess. And I didn't even find anything._

"If it has anything to do with your safety then it is my business." Reno stated calmly, watching Rufus.

"It has nothing to do with my safety. Now, Get. Out."

"And if you were to fall off that table and break your neck?"

Rufus stared at Reno flabbergasted. 

"Fall off the table? I've been climbing around on tables since I could walk. I'm not an invalid."

"And I'm not about to let you become one because of an accident while you're under my care." Reno eyed Rufus and the table he was on, "Now, Sir, if you would climb down and explain what you're doing."

Rufus felt a white hot rage course through him, "Under your care!? I'm not a child; I can take care of myself! And I will come down off the table when I feel like it, I'm not finished here." Rufus clenched his hands into fists and fought to control himself after his outburst, "And what I'm doing is _my_ business. Now, do I have to repeat my order?"

He knew he was reacting like a spoilt brat. In a rare moment of clarity he could see full well that he may as well be threatening to hold his breath till he got what he wanted. _But Damnit!_ _He has no right to disobey me. If I give an order he should follow it to the letter, not stand around ignoring it._

Which was exactly what the man was doing. He stood in front of Rufus, as if he hadn't heard a word of what the boy had just said. 

Growling in exasperation Rufus decided he may as well get down off the table, _I'd look like a fool if I tried to search that duct again anyway. It's _far_ too high._

He grudgingly slipped to the floor the stood glaring Reno, hands on hips and his fringe falling into his eyes.

"Happy? Now get out!"

 Reno stood for a moment longer, watching Rufus then nodded slightly and left the room. Rufus sighed in relief then looked around the room groaning. _Maybe I should have let him stay and help me clean up…_

****

~~~~~

It was cold.

He was sure that it wasn't the room that was cold. It had actually been warm until He had stuck the needle in his arm, pumping some strange green stuff, which glowed, into him. 

He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself; trying to keep whatever heat he still had in him where it was.

"… There seems to be a severe drop in body temperature. Symptoms involve: Shivering, higher levels of glycogen are being burnt; blood flow to extremities is decreasing."

Reno ignored the man and concentrated on trying to stop his shivering, rubbing his hands over his arms in an attempt to warm them. By the time the wave of shivering stopped he was beginning to feel drowsy.

"Subject seems to be loosing consciousness, motor controls are decreasing rapidly." There were a few beeps indicating the man was checking the machinery he'd hooked Reno up too. "…Multiple points of rapid tissue degeneration. My readings indicate the nervous system is being corroded away. It seems the enhanced mako is acting like a cross between a natural acid and a virus."

Reno tried to focus on the sound of the hated mans voice as another wave of shivering hit him and this time didn't stop. Reno closed his eyes and bit back a moan as the dull ache that had been throbbing within him suddenly turned into a sharp pain and his muscles began to twitch. He was in agony.

"Enhanced mako has reached the heart; subject is going into arrest. Cell corruption has reached 63% and rising; samples of blood and DNA are being gathered…"

Reno didn't hear anything anymore. His world consisted of nothing but white-hot pain and bouts of darkness and eye-watering light, which flashed across his vision. He wanted the pain to stop, it had to stop; he couldn't handle it. His body was on fire and it was a block of ice. Thousands of knives sliced through him, and he was being pounded from all directions. It had to stop. He had to get away. He would get away. The pain must stop. It would stop! _MAKE IT STOP!!_

Darkness…

Then light.

Blinding white light. He couldn't see.

He blinked his watering eyes against the glare and focused on something he could hear, a vaguely familiar sound, but not one that was comforting.

"… Subject has regained all functions it had before the experiment. Not a single cell is damaged. In fact the enhanced mako has improved them. His regenerative abilities have increased 10 fold at least; I have no doubts that he could recover from say… a gunshot wound or a sword thrust, within a matter of hours. 

"This is really quite amazing. I hadn't thought this specimen would be as responsive as it is to these experiments. I had thought it quite weak, and it is compared to the specimen from the Jenova project, but it really is amazing for something so completely un-enhanced and young. I do believe it will be useful as a test subject for any potentially damaging tests we wish to do on the specimen for the Jenova project. So there are no regrettable mistakes….

The voice faded out again as Reno felt the world around him spin and his head grow fuzzy… then darkness consumed him once again. 

~~~~~~~

-=-=-=-

Reno sat up panting and closed his eyes, attempting to make his heart stop trying to pound a hole through his chest.

Sweat glistened on his forehead and he noticed dimly that his blankets were tangled around his legs. He finally got his breathing under control and opened his eyes to stare blindly into the darkroom. In an instant he realised that two pieces of the room was darker then the rest.

He slipped his hand under his pillow and got a firm grip on his gun as a familiar voice said softly, "Turning the light on."

Instantly he relaxed and closed his eyes as the light flicked on and blinked them to get his vision back, then glanced at the two men standing in his door way.

Rude stood silently, hands behind his back, and just slightly in front of him Tseng stood impassively, one eyebrow raised in Reno's direction.

Reno scowled at them and sat up properly on the bed, pulling the blankets up around his waist, his gun still in his hand.

"Well?" The dream had left him feeling churlish and he wasn't in the mood for a game of 'guess the reason we snuck into your room in the middle of the night'.

The corners of Tseng's mouth turned upwards slightly and he stepped forward to throw a Manilla folder into Reno's lap, "We have the beginnings I believe."

Reno dropped his gun and flicked the folder open and his eyes widened at what he saw, "Gosh. She really was busy, wasn't she?" He flicked a few more pieces of paper over and whistled under his breath, "She should have been a bit more careful after she got this stuff into her hands."

Tseng nodded, "What does the boy know of it?"

Reno blinked and looked up at the leader of the Turks, "I don't think he knows anything… yet. He is looking though; I caught him today ripping his office to pieces. Where did you find these? He'd pretty much checked over every inch of that office and I was surprised he didn't find what he was looking for."

Tseng shrugged and took the folder back from Reno and handed it to Rude, "She was slightly smarter then her untimely demise indicates. She hid them in plan sight, in the top draw of her secretary's desk in fact.

Reno nodded, "Makes sense. Diane is a smart girl. So what are we going to do? And what do I do about the kid?"

"Nothing at the moment, I want to do a bit more inside work. And keep your eye on Rufus. If my sources are right, and they almost always are, that boy is smart. Smart enough to figure out what is going on, and I want to know the instant he finds out anything he isn't supposed too. Try to keep him out of it, too. He could get in deeper then he ever wanted too if he's not careful."

Reno nodded then a though occurred to him; "I want to put him through basic training."

Tseng looked at Reno curiously.

"If everything goes according to plan, he's going to be the head of the company, sooner rather then later. I think about now would be a good opportunity to make sure he knows what the Turks are, what we do and make sure he learns not to get to much in our way. If there's a chance to get us out from under the thumb of the main power then I think we should take it."

Tseng tilted his head slightly, his lips once again turning upwards in a near-smile, "Agreed. I trust you'll do your best to do as you've said without resorting to anything… drastic. Rude will be keeping an eye on you."

Reno stopped himself from rolling his eyes; _trust mister big shot to keep me under observation. I bet my big lump of a partner reported what happened this morning. Simply lovely, now they all think I'm going to push the kid into a closet and rape him._

"Yes Sir."

Tseng nodded then gestured and he and Rude left the room silently. Reno lay back in the bed and went over everything he'd just found out.

_Well it's about time someone figured out what that old man and his 'people' are up too. I just wish there was something we could do about it other then watching._

Deep in thought he caressed the handle of his gun then sighed and slipped it back under his pillow as he stood up and walked across the room to the light switch. He may as well go back to sleep, tomorrow wasn't going to be a nice day. No doubt Rufus wouldn't like the idea of Turk training, and it was going to be Reno's job to convince his otherwise.

With a humourless chuckle he flicked off the light, and went back to bed.

Please R&R! You can even e-mail me! I crave feedback!


	5. Everybody was Kung-fu fighting

Apologies for such a late chapter this time. I've been all over the place and have hardly had any time to write. This chapter is also a bit short, but I'm sure it's action packed enough to make up for it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, don't own 'em. No money, don't sue me.

**Chapter 5**

Reno sat bolt upright in bed; aiming his gun at the door before he was even awake enough to register there was someone entering his room.

"Damn it Turk! Get that thing out of my face and explain to me why there are two men in my living room prattling about some sort of training!"

Rufus' irate voice penetrated Reno's sleep haze and he lowered his gun while he tried to connect the words that had just been thrown at him into coherency.

_Training? What the hell is he on about? I don't know anything about tr… oh yeah._

"Basic Turk training." He rubbed one hand across his face to clear his eyes and looked up at Rufus who, Reno noted absently, was still using his robe. "Gotta teach you some hand-to-hand combat, make sure you can use that gun of yours amongst other stuff."

The expression of Rufus' face was half bewildered, "I'm doing what?"

Reno slid his gun back under his pillow then threw his blankets aside and stood up, glancing at Rufus with amusement "Basic's. Don't worry about it. Nothing fancy unless you show an aptitude for it."

Rufus stared hard at the floor, a light blush spreading across his cheeks, as Reno began to move around the room picking up items of clothing, "What for? Isn't that what you're for?"

Reno didn't miss a beat as he pulled a pair of navy blue pants over his boxers, then slipped his arms through the sleeves of a half rumpled, but somehow still white, shirt, not bothering to do either up.

"Yeah. The 'higher ups' decided that what happened at the Ball could have been avoided, if your mother had have been able to defend herself. So to test the theory, _you_ are going to learn how to defend yourself." He turned and pierced Rufus with a rare steely glare as he slipped a shoulder holster on over his shirt, "We Turks don't like being used like we were at that ball. It _won't_ happen again. We'll make sure of it." Straightening the guns in the holster he turned and grabbed a comb and walked passed Rufus, out the door, throwing the rest of his words back over his shoulder, "Go get dressed, training starts today. I suggest you wear something you don't mind being ruined."

****

 Rufus stared around the large barn-like room, a glare painting his features into a mask of discontent.

_How did I get into this? Better yet, how do I get out of it?_

In a slight daze he'd gone into his room and gotten dressed in the oldest clothes he could find, then Reno, and his two 'friends', had bundled Rufus into a black van and driven him the lifestream-knows-where. When he'd attempted to question Reno all he'd gotten was vague, half distracted answers, which had left Rufus fuming, and then, when they'd arrived at their destination, he'd been hurried into this building without even a chance to see what colour the paint was. _Then_, to top it off, they'd stood him at one end of the huge, open, building and told him to stay where he was, then left him alone. Even Reno had vanished.

_Isn't he aware that I have _work_ to do? And besides that, I want to do some more searching for mother's records; they have to be there somewhere. _

_And what if father found out about this? _That is if the old man didn't know about it already. _No, he wouldn't authorize it, if mother had known how to defend herself, his plan would have failed. He'd have no wish to have such an easy avenue blocked up with me. _So the Turk's were going behind the old man's back on this. What had Reno said? The Turk's didn't like being used like they had been? _So they know something's up too…enough that they're willing to go behind the old man's back to make sure he can't do it again. I wonder… _Were they looking into it too? Like he had been? Searching for her files and any other information that may have caused the old man to have his wife killed? _Where does that leave me? The Turks are elite. They know exactly what to do and how to do it. That's probably why I couldn't find anything in the office; I bet they already found it. Damn!_

"Enough day dreaming, time to work." And unfamiliar voice knocked Rufus out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Reno standing beside a man wearing head to toe black. Rufus peered at the man but all he could actually see of him was his eyes, and they chilled him to the bone, "R… Reno, who is this?" he frowned at the slight hesitation in his voice.

"This is one of the best." Reno looked Rufus up and down with a curiously blank expression on his face, "He will be teaching you hand-to-hand. I'll warn you now; he doesn't care who you are, or what your rank is. His job is to make you the best he can make you in hand-to-hand combat and he won't put up with childish tantrums. Do as he says and learn what he has to teach you."

As Rufus stood, mouth agape, Reno turned and walked back the way he'd come, through one of the doors on the right. 

Rufus was beginning to fume, _how DARE he? What the HELL was he gibbering abo…?_ "Ahhh!" Suddenly he was staring upward at the man in black from his new position on the practice mat.

"What the hell are you doing?! How DARE you touch me like that! Do you KNOW who I am?!"

The man looked down at Rufus with his clear blue eyes and Rufus suddenly got the impression he was staring into the eyes of a hardened killer.

"No, child. I know not who you are, nor do I care. If you be wise you will do what Reno-kun has said you should. I no tolerate disobedience; it will be punished if seen. You will show respect to me, I will be called Sensei. Now up! On your feet; I will teach you to stand correctly, then to fall."

Rufus gaped up at the man as he stood back and waited for the boy to stand, his arms crossed over his chest, his cold eyes weighing and evaluating Rufus's every movement. 

Rufus counted his options and realised he didn't have any, it was either do as he was told, or find out what this punishment the man mentioned was. _Judging by how he chose to get my attention, I don't want to know what the punishment would be._ Glowering silently he pushed himself to his feet and glanced one final time in the direction Reno had disappeared in. _Reno, you are going to pay for this… BIG time!_

****

"He's not going to like you for this."

Reno tucked his singlet into the top of his loose tracksuit pants, and then started tightening the straps on his workout gloves, "He isn't meant to like me."

"He's going to make your life hell."

"Like he hasn't already."

"You could have at least taught him the basic's yourself, before you let the Sensei get to him. The poor kid's going to be a wreck when he's finished."

Reno finished with his straps and turned to face Rude who was staring at him impassively from behind his dark glasses, _He even wears those things to train. Course, if he wears them all the time then I guess he needs to be used to fighting in them, _"I thought about that, but I have to do what the brat says so he wouldn't listen to me if were trying to teach him something. Besides, this way he doesn't get any bad habits."

Rude tilted his head to one side then nodded slightly and gestured back out into the barn-like building. Reno made sure his hair was tied back properly, then stepped through the change-room doors and walked across the practise mats, his eyes glancing over the distance to where Rufus was.

The building was huge; even more so then it appeared just by looking at this one room. This room was designed to hold up to, and sometimes above, a hundred students, all training in various fighting styles. Other parts of the building held weapons facilities, gymnasiums, changing rooms, steam rooms and anything else that could possibly be needed to train, not just Turks, but ShinRa's other heavy muscle types, and sometimes even members of Soldier. Not that any of the said mentioned groups had full access to the building and it's myriad of facilities. Only the Turks really knew exactly what went on there, and that was only because they were required to do almost anything.

Reno snorted in amusement as he watched Rufus glare at the Sensei and say something, more then likely obnoxious, and received a solid blow to the side of his head, which spent him sprawling to the floor.

"And maybe some discipline would do him good." Reno said to Rude, picking up the conversation where it had left off.

Rude merely grunted and put himself at the ready, waiting for Reno to finish a couple of quick warm-ups.

"Alright, alright, mister impatient. Gee, you'd think you were in a hurry to get your arse whooped." Quickly Reno flowed into a ready stance and grinned at Rude. For a few heartbeats the two remained motionless, each examining the other for weaknesses in their stances, or hints on what to expect, then they leapt into a flurry of motion.

Reno jumped forward and threw a punch at Rude's head and then ducked backwards out of the way as the blow was easily blocked and retaliated against.

Eyes flickering over each other, they circled then met again for a flurry of quick blows then once again separated.

"You're getting quicker." Reno noted eyeing the bigger man, "Or I'm getting slower. Wish you wouldn't wear those shades, do you have any idea how annoying it is that I can't see your eyes?"

Rude grunted and moved forward aiming a kick at Reno's head then followed it up with a second one to his chest as the first was blocked, "Why do you think I wear them."

Reno didn't grace Rude with a reply. Instead he dropped quickly and swept the larger man's feet out from under him, then flowed into a quick back flip to get out of the way of Rude's startled counter.

"Bigger they are, the harder they fall." Reno commented from a safe distance from where Rude was climbing to his feet.

"That's really annoying you know."

"What is?"

"All that inane chatter."

Reno grinned, and then broke his stance briefly to touch two fingers to his forelock in mock salute and bow slightly, "I try."

Rude grunted, half amused, half irritated then rushed Reno, bombarding him with a flurry of quick, powerful, punches.

Reno blocked the first few punches easily then decided that dodging would probably hurt less. _Big guy, big muscles, big punches. Why, o why did I decide it was a good idea to train with a steel-reinforced brick wall?_

Ducking under the next punch, Reno landed two solid blows to Rude's midriff then threw himself into a backwards roll, pulling off another leg sweep as soon as he had his feet under him.

After years of training with the smaller man, Rude knew better then to follow him as he rolled away. Instead he stood back, watching warily as the redhead regained his feet. 

Reno pushed his fringe back out of his eyes as he circled around Rude, then tightened the tie on his ponytail, thinking quickly.

Rude fell back into a ready stance and raised an eyebrow at Reno in inquiry. Reno grinned and launched a sidekick at Rude then followed it up with a series of punches, then went back to kicks.

Rude finally launched a kick at Reno that he couldn't block and didn't have enough time to dodge. Rude's foot slammed into Reno's side and sent him flying backwards to land a few meters away, his breath knocked out of him.

Panting he lay where he'd landed and concentrated on getting his breathing back under control, _Again I ask myself why I thought this would be fun. I'm outta shape, WAY outta shape._

"You dead?" Reno half grinned at the bigger mans question. When the two had first met, when Reno had first joined the Turks, there had been a situation just like this. The two had been sparring to get Reno used to fighting guys bigger then he was and Rude had kicked him a little to hard, knocking him across the room and leaving him flat on his back, gasping. He'd asked Reno the same question then and it had been the first words Reno had ever heard the big man utter.

"No man, not quite." He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

"Good. You might want to get up then." 

Reno frowned and opened his eyes, glancing in Rude's direction, and realised that they had an audience.

"If you in death fight, you think opponent will wait for you get your breath back before he try kill you?"

Reno started up at the black-clad martial artist then hauled himself to his feet, "No Sensei."

The man offered nothing in response other then a gesture and a quiet command, "Fight."

Reno glanced at Rufus, who stood beside the Sensei, watching with an unreadable expression of his face, then bowed quickly to them, then to Rude and both flowed into ready stances.

Within seconds the two were once again engaged in heated battle.

****

"Not so much, boy. You no get full mobility if you busy trying to keep balance."  
The black-clad man tapped Rufus' ankle with his foot, knocking it into a better position, "Better. Now arms." He demonstrated how to hold his arms and Rufus sullenly followed suit.

"No boy, no like that!" He took hold of Rufus' arms and repositioned them, "You need be able to defend _and_ attack, not flail around like landed fish."

Rufus frowned as the man moved his arms, _I swear, I have no idea who this man is or where I am, but as soon as I get out I'm getting them all fired and burning this place to the ground!_

Rufus took his eyes of off his black-clad Sensei and looked longingly at the exit. Noticing a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye he turned his head and was startled to see Reno, in loose clothing, fighting against the 7foot Turk, Rude.

_Huh?_

Reno went low and knocked the bigger man off his feet then gracefully back flipped and waited for the man to regain his feet. Rufus stared, half mesmerized. _I had no idea he was so graceful…_

"Pay attention!" Rufus looked up at his teacher from his unexpected new position on the floor and saw that he was now staring at the fight between Reno and Rude, "Come. Maybe you learn from demonstration."

Rufus climbed to his feet and slowly followed the black-clad man, arriving at the Turks' fight in time to see Rude land a rather hard kick to Reno's side, sending him flying backwards to land with a thump on the practise mat.

Inexplicably Rufus felt an urge to make sure the Turk was all right, but forced himself to stay where he was. _He's just a Turk…_

Refocusing on what was going on around him he saw that Reno had gotten up and was circling Rude warily, then the two sped into motion, trading kicks and punches.

_Wow…_Rufus felt his eyes going wide as he watched the speeds the two men were moving at and how they were reading each others moves, _That's amazing. They can't seriously be expecting me to learn to do that… can they?_

"Reno-kun!" The black-clad man beside Rufus suddenly barked out, "Straighten your posture, bad form make you slow!"

Reno didn't say anything, but Rufus saw him straighten his shoulders slightly as he blocked a series of quick blows aimed at his head.

"No over extend! Let blow come to you." The man had begun to pace around the two fighters, "Rude-kun! You may be built like tank but you no have to move like one, move faster!"

Rufus watched in complete bemusement as the black-clad Sensei continued to bark out commands and the two fighters moved around each other in the most amazing dance Rufus had ever witnessed.

****

Reno sat up where he had once again been kicked by Rude and rubbed the back of his head. _I'm in worse shape then I thought I was, I need more practise._

"Reno-kun! Keep guard up. That no have happen if you not get sloppy!"

Reno groaned and climbed back to his feet, eyeing the distance between himself and Rude. _I think it's far enough… it is. Time to end this, or I'm not ganna be fit for anything when we're done._

Slowly stepping backwards, masking it by stretching his arms and legs a little to get the kinks out; Reno looked to Rude, and nodded.

Rude nodded back and stood on guard and Reno smiled slightly, then began to run forwards. Rude blinked at Reno, startled, as the redhead threw him-self into a handspring and began to flip towards him.

Rude stood, frozen for an instant to long, as his partner came towards him and had to jolt himself into action as the redhead threw himself in the air and came at him, feet first.

At what seemed like the last instant Rude ducked slightly and pushed his arms up ahead of him, wrists crossed in defence.

Reno grinned and changed his centre of balance quickly, flipping over to land his hands firmly on the bigger man's shoulders and using them to springboard back into the air and land safely. As soon as he hit the ground he dropped and kicked Rude in the back of the knees, dropping him to the floor, then leapt on his back and placed his fingers lightly over two pressure points on the big man's neck, "KILL!" 

Rude groaned and looked back over his shoulder at Reno who grinned down at him.

"Well done Reno-kun. But fight not have last as long if you kept up practice. I expect see you here, along with boy, from now forward."

Reno stood up and bowed in the black-clad man's direction, "Yes Sensei."

Reno glanced up, letting his eyes slide to Rufus, and was startled by what he saw there. The boy was slack-jawed and still staring at Reno and Rude in the oddest manner. Reno had seen the same look in the eyes of other young kids who'd been brought to this building to train.

_Perfect._

Grinning to himself, Reno turned to Rude, who'd just pulled himself to his feet, and followed him into the changing area to have a shower and wait for Rufus to finish up.

****

Rufus stepped out of the elevator on the 69th floor of the ShinRa tower and walked down the hall towards his office, his trusty shadow not three steps behind him.

Amazingly, the annoying idiot that ran the front desk was nowhere to be seen. Rufus almost smiled, till he noticed that Diane wasn't at her desk in front of his office either, and that the office door was partially open.

Rufus stopped walking as Reno, gun in hand and moving with the same grace he'd shown when fighting, cut in front of him and pushed the door open further, glancing inside.

The Turk visibly tensed for a moment then relaxed, putting his gun away and stepping out of Rufus' way.

Rufus cast a questioning glance at Reno, but finding no answers, stepped into the doorway and entered.

And tensed just as Reno had.

Instantly the bored, arrogant expression he'd learned to use around his father slipped into place over his features and he stared coldly at the older man, who stood behind the large desk that nearly dominated the room.

"Office hours began," the man checked his watch, "three hours ago."

Rufus remained silent. On the outside he was calm and looked bored, inside his mind was racing.

_Well that proves that father didn't know about my new 'training'. And I'm guessing that the Turks REALLY don't want me to tell him… What makes them so sure I won't tell him? Up until an hour ago I was fully prepared to do just that. Until an hour ago? Does that mean I'm NOT going to tell him? Why? …Cause I want to learn. Learn to do what Reno was doing… I guess the Turks are lucky… this time._

President Shinra eyed his son with something close to satisfaction. This was perfect; a vice president who hardly showed up for work was a complete improvement over one who meddled where she didn't belong. And if the reports he'd gotten so far were any indication, then it wouldn't be long till Rufus was acting very much like the spoilt brat he was rumoured to be, and he'd be making more then enough noise to cover up anything the President might be doing.

 Still, he'd better put a show on of at least _attempting_ to get the boy to do his job.

"I understand that you may still be grieving for the loss of your mother, but that is no excuse to shirk your new responsibilities. The people who rely on us for Mako won't put up with a vice-president who gallivants all day and doesn't work. Make sure you're here on time tomorrow."

Rufus didn't blink during the entirety of the short speech, and remained silent as the fat man minced passed him, and Reno, then out the door.

Nervously, Reno walked around the young man and sat on the edge of the huge desk. Rufus' eyes narrowed and focused on his bodyguard.

"Is it just me, or did that scene strike you as slightly odd?"

Reno blinked and stared at Rufus, his mouth going slack in surprise.

_Did he just ask me something? Politely?_

"Ahh… actually. Yes." Reno chewed on his lip reflectively while watching Rufus out of the corner of his eye.

Rufus suddenly came back to himself and shrugged, "Well whatever. I'll figure it out later." His eyes focused on Reno again, this time with a steely look, "Get off my desk Turk. And go do something useful, like find my secretary."

The young man ignored Reno then, and moved around the desk to sit down, and grabbed a pile of documents.

Reno shrugged to himself then meandered out of the office. Diane couldn't be far off.

Please R&R!! I love Feedback!!


	6. Friends?

I know, I know. This chapter is _sooooo_ late. But first X-Mas happened and then all of a sudden it was New Years… And amongst all that I had a major case of muse block. My Muse's went away for the holidays and I had to reread my reviews to get them to come back! Either way, here is Chapter 6 (finally) and please R&R!!! Muses are highly egotistical and work better when praised or commented to extensively.

**Disclaimer**: I own Final Fantasy 7. I own Rufus and Reno, they are both my Bishie Love Slaves, and I own Square! Muwhahahahahahahahahahahahhaaaa *Runs away as the men in white coats come to take her away (hoho haha heehee to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time)*

~~~~~ Denotes flashback/dream sequence

**Chapter 6**

Hojo hummed as he tapped the edge of his clipboard with his pen, his eyes flicking down over the lists of data that covered every inch of the white sheets that were clipped to it. He was getting more irritated with every sheet he read. 

Weeks he'd spent coming up with the serum for this experiment and now it looked like he couldn't preform it… all for lack of a test subject.

"No. No. No! None of these will work! They have to much Mako in their systems." Hojo slammed the clipboard down on his desk where it clattered across the metal surface knocking a jar of pencils over his computer keyboard and then clattering to the floor.

Hojo scowled then leant forward to gather up the pencils. How could this have happened? He'd never been caught without a suitable specimen before, he'd always planned for that, but no. This time he'd completely forgotten, trusting that he'd probably have something somewhere that could be worked on. 

"This is going to take years! It'll take at least 5 years to create a suitable specimen for this. How could I have be…" A flickering on his computer screen caught the scientist's eye and he felt his lips turn upwards in an ugly smile, "Well, well… looks like Professor Gast has provided me with the perfect test subject after all."

-=-=-=-

"I'm going to kill you Turk, this is all your fault." Rufus groaned from his position sprawled out on the couch.

"You'd have to catch me first." The redhead leaned over the back of the couch and looked down at the blonde who'd made the death threat, "And you're not fast enough."

Rufus groaned again and opened his eyes to stare blurrily up at Reno, "I don't care! I'm going to kill you anyway. _Painfully_. Just as soon as I can move."

Reno chuckled and disappeared from Rufus' line of sight, then reappeared to sit on the coffee table.

It was three weeks now since he'd begun his 'basic' training and, while he was enjoying every minute of it, he was also growing to hate it with a passion. He'd moved up from learning basic fighting, to training with Reno under the Sensei's watchful eye, and it was, somehow, ten-times worse then training with just the Sensei had been. Reno had made it clear, almost a week ago now, when he'd begun training with Rufus, that on the practice mats, Reno was no longer his bodyguard. He was the enemy, and he wasn't going to stop just because Rufus was tired, or told him too, he was going to make sure Rufus knew exactly what a highly skilled and implacable enemy would be like. 

Rufus moved an arm that felt like it was weighted down with lead and rubbed a hand over his eyes, "Get your fat arse off my coffee table Turk. It is not, nor ever will be, a chair!"

Reno, ignoring the half-hearted order, pushed scraggly fringe out of his eyes, "Shouldn't you be showering?"

Eyeing the distance to the bathroom door Rufus frowned, "How about I just lay here instead?"

Reno stood up and grinned, "Okay then, I'll go get a bucket and some water."

"What?!" Rufus sat up quickly and glared at Reno.

"Well if you won't go shower, I'll just dump a bucket of water over you. Not as fancy, but it'll get the job done."

Rufus looked horrified, "Do you _know_ how hard it would be to get water stains out of this?!" he gestured at the pure white upholstery of the couch then staggered to his feet, "Don't you even _dare_ bringing water into this lounge."

Reno grinned and saluted Rufus mockingly as the boy about-faced and stalked into the bathroom. 

That kid is way to easy to get a rise out of… 

-=-=-

Tseng, head of the ShinRa Turks sat calmly behind the desk in his office and looked up at the young girl who stood across from him, fidgeting.

"…Are you sure?"

"Yes sir. But I don't know why though, I couldn't find out…" The girl's voice trailed off and she glanced behind her, in a gesture that was rapidly beginning to irritate Tseng.

"Very well… thank you." He offered her a small, tight-lipped smile then gestured at Rude to take her out.

As soon as they were out the door Tseng leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers before him. _Well this is interesting…whatever can you be planning Hojo? …It doesn't matter. You're going to be stopped._

-=-=-=-

It was lunchtime, and Reno was getting ready to strangle one gorgeous blonde vice-president of ShinRa. Inc.

"We didn't even have breakfast. Come on, just a _little_ food. We'll just run down to the café then run back again."

Rufus' lips tightened in irritation "Look, if you're that hungry, go down and get something to eat, or send that weird girl at the front desk who keeps popping up all over the place. I'm. Busy."

 Reno frowned then jumped up to sit on Rufus' desk, effectively cutting him off from getting his next piece of work, "It's only lunch. There's nothing here that's so important it can't wait fifteen minutes."

Rufus didn't even look up this time. Before Reno knew what hit him, he was flat on his back on the floor, blinking dazedly at the ceiling. "Tables aren't for sitting on. Now go away."

"Fine!" Reno climbed to his feet and glared at the young ShinRa, "I'll go find the scary chick from the front desk."

Rufus didn't bother to reply.

Glaring, Reno pulled the office door open and walked straight into a frantic looking Diane, "Hide!"

"Huh?" Reno questioned her intelligently.

"There's a man at the front desk, he demanded to know where Rufus was, started waving a gun around. And I think he's taken Colleen hostage!"

Reno blinked again then his instincts kicked in and he knocked the secretary to the floor as the sound of a gun being fired echoed down the corridor.

"Get under your desk, and stay there." Reno ordered then threw himself back into Rufus' office and slammed the door shut.

"What the hell is going on?" Rufus was standing and staring at Reno on the floor, his eyes a little wide.

Listening intently Reno gestured at Rufus, "Get behind your desk, on the floor. There's a lunatic out there with a gun."

Looking, the now standing, Reno up and down Rufus commented dryly, "There's a lunatic in _here_ with a gun."

Reno gave Rufus what the boy had come to know as 'The Look' and he gave in, dropping to his knees behind his desk then pulled his own gun out of his jacket. _Great, now there's _two_ lunatics in here with guns._

Everything remained silent and Rufus was beginning to get edgy. _Maybe the Turk's gone insane. If he's playing a practical joke I swear I…_

With a loud crash the door to the office blew open and the huge, floor-to-ceiling, windows that were the office's barrier against the elements shattered, showering Rufus with shards of glass that he hastily lifted his arms to protect himself against.

"Where is he?!" The voice was coming from the doorway still. _Directly in front of me, if I'm lucky, I could shoot him. Where's Reno?_

"I…I don't know! I thought he was in here." A hysterical female voice said shrilly and Rufus cursed. _Hostage…_

"Drop the gun." A third, male, voice said. Then, after a moment, added, "And the girl."

What the hell is going on? 

"And if I don't?"

"I'll blow your damned head off."   

There was a pause; the only sound that of the girl whimpering.

"I think _you_ should drop _your_ gun. Or I'll shoot the girl."

The voice that was unmistakably Reno sniggered, "Go ahead."

There was another pause then the girl shrieked as she was thrown to the floor. Rufus looked to his right and saw her on her hands and knees, pieces of glass cutting into the palms of her hands.

"Well done, now drop the gun."

The girl, Colleen from the front desk, sat up then turned slightly and saw Rufus and her eyes widened.

"I don't think so… I think I've found my quarry."

Rufus had enough sense to hit the floor before the side of the desk blew out and he felt a stinging pain along his left side.

A second shot echoed through the room and the sound of a body hitting the floor reminded Rufus forcefully of the night of the Ball, then his vision went black.

-=-=-=-

Reno cursed and was across the room in an instant, examining Rufus' unconscious form. After a quick search he sighed in relief. A nasty cut down his arm, but that was all. 

Reno's eyes lifted from the boy to the horrified Colleen, "Get up and go get a healer. NOW!" The girl scarpered. 

"Managed to blow up another piece of ShinRa have you Reno?"

Reno peered around what used to be Rufus' desk and frowned at Tseng and Rude as they stepped over what was left of the gunman, and came to view Reno's charge.

"Dear, dear." Tseng shook his head and said in a not-so-surprised voice, "However did a gunman manage to get this far into the ShinRa building. I guess someone quite powerful has it in for the boy; he'll have to be taken somewhere safe for a while I expect. Reno, see to it. Come along Rude, we should go see the President."

Reno grunted, then moved out of the way as a group of paramedic's raced into the room to see to their vice-president and glared at his superiors retreating back. Tseng was playing a dangerous game, Reno only hoped nobody got hurt to badly in the crossfire.

-=-=-=-

Rufus glared at Reno then winced again as his arm stung, "Tell me again why I'm standing in the middle of a forest out in the lifestream-knows-where!"

Reno sighed and hitched his backpack higher on his back then turned to look at his reluctant companion, "We are here because Tseng thinks it'll be better for your sake if you weren't in Midgar right now."

"By why _Mideel_?!" Rufus tramped along behind Reno, through millions of huge overbearing _trees_ and continued to glare at the slightly older mans back, "Couldn't we have gone to Junon, or Costa del Sol or somewhere _other_ then _Mideel_??"

Reno smirked slightly, "Well. We're not actually going to Mideel. We'll just be in the area."

Rufus stopped walking, "What do you mean '_in the area'_?" Rufus' voice was covered in suspicion.

Reno stopped and turned to face the 16-year-old vice-president of ShinRa. Inc., "Well, it's to risky to have you in even such a small town. So we're not going to be in it. We're about 5 minutes away from our accommodation, which is a nice cottage about a 5–6 hour walk out of Mideel town." 

Rufus stared at Reno, all the air rushing out of his lungs as if he'd just been hit in the stomach, "Wh…what did you say? You're joking right? Right??"

Reno offered Rufus a half smile then turned back to the small track through the trees, " 'Fraid not. Come on, sooner we get there, the sooner this walk will be over and done with."

Rufus forced himself to follow after the Turk, but all the while only one thought ran through his head. 

_By the Ancients! I've fallen into Hell!_

-=-=-=-

Small.

That was the only word Reno could think of to describe the cottage he and Rufus would be occupying until Tseng said otherwise.

A quick examination of the building revealed that it had only one main room to live in and a bathroom, to both men's relief the cottage had indoor plumbing and power. The main room was almost empty, furnishings consisting of a small table, two bare chairs, a rug on the floor, a set of three pots on the wall, a stove, a fireplace and, Reno glared at the last object, one double bed. The bed, in fact, was the main point of Reno and Rufus' current argument.

"…You're a Turk, you're _used_ to roughing it. So _you_ are sleeping on the floor."

"I'm older then you are, plus I'm your protection. What if your attacked and I can't help you 'cause I have a crick in my back from sleeping on the floor?"

Rufus glared and crossed his arms over his chest, "You're on the floor, that's an order."

Reno sighed and dumped his pack in a corner. He hadn't really expected to win the argument, but at least he could say he'd tried, "It's a big bed, can't see why we can't _both_ sleep on it." He muttered to himself and realised he'd said it a little _too_ loud when he felt a flinty cold gaze on him.

"I am _not_ going to sleep in the same bed with you Turk. It's bad enough having to have you in the same _room_."

Reno turned around to face Rufus, knowing he should just stay quiet but taking offence to the tone of voice the blonde had used, "And what exactly is _wrong_ with the idea of sleeping in the same bed as me?"

Rufus pushed his hair off of his forehead and rolled his eyes, "What _wouldn't_ be wrong with it? If you were half as annoying asleep as you are awake, I'd never get any rest. Plus, you're a clinger and I have no intention of being grabbed in the middle of the night."

Both of Reno's eyebrows lifted at the last statement and Rufus suddenly blushed as he realised what he'd said, "I'm a 'clinger' am I? And how exactly did you get that impression?" Reno asked, intrigued.

"…Well…you spend half the night grabbing onto pillows, I'd hate to think of the fate of someone in the same bed…" Rufus blushed further realizing he was just digging himself deeper as Reno's eyebrows somehow lifted further upwards, "_Look_, you're the one who sleeps with your bedroom door open half the time so _don't_ look at me like that!"

Reno's mouth curved into a smirk, "Still… standing near my bedroom door is an odd place for you to be in the middle of the night." _And how did you manage to stand there without my ever knowing it. I should have woken up the instant you came close…_

Rufus frowned hard and tried to stop the blush that wasn't listening to him at all, "It's my apartment, I'll stand where I like in it." He growled then headed for the door outside, "This conversation is pointless, you're on the floor, I'm on the bed, try doing something useful and make this place liveable. I'm going to look around." Reno jumped slightly as the door slammed shut behind the blonde boy but his smirk was even wider.

"Can stand anywhere you like, eh? Interesting…"

-=-=-=-

"…You're kidding me."

"Do I look like I'm making a joke?"

"How the heck should I know?! And if this _is_ a joke, it's _not_ funny."

"It's not a joke. I can't be running around waiting on you hand-and-foot. I have other things to do. So you're learning to cook. And you'll be cutting the firewood, helping me with the dishes and washing, and don't think that you're training is off just because we're out here. You'll be up at dawn, as normal, and we'll work-out outside."

Rufus stared at the redheaded Turk over his bowl of stew with horror, "You're kidding me."

"You said that already." Reno speared a piece of meat with his fork, "And I'm not. You _will_ do all this, or you'll be having a very miserable time out here, because I won't be doing any of it for you."

"You sound like my Mother…" Rufus muttered, glaring furiously at his dinner. What had he done to deserve this? Just when he and Reno had come to an understanding of sorts. They'd figured out exactly how far each could go before they got into trouble, and even begun to actually _like_ each other a bit. _Then some idiot assassin has to run into the tower, waving his gun and threatening to kill me, and we're back to square one. I can't believe it. _Me_, heir to the ShinRa 'empire', in the middle of _nowhere_, doing _chores_!_

"Well somebody has too."

"Huh?!" Rufus looked up at Reno, his eyes wide, his fork clattering into his bowl as he let go of it in startlement.

Reno blinked at the stunned boy with one eyebrow raised, "You said I sounded like your mother… I said that somebody has too." 

Rufus visibly relaxed and picked up his fork again and continued eating. _Have to pay more attention, that was more of a shock then I needed right now._

"…Oh...right." A thought occurred to him, "I'm not a little boy, I can look after myself."

"Sure you can." Reno smirked across the table at the blonde, "And to make sure of that fact I'm going to teach you to cook and you're going to help me with chores and keep up your training."

"Oh _fine_!" Rufus speared a piece of meat with his fork a little more forcefully then necessary and glared at Reno, "I'll do the damned chores if it'll make you happy, but I warn you, cooking isn't going to be fun. I _can't_ cook. Mother tried to teach me once and I nearly burnt my apartment building down. And what about _this_?" He gestured at his injured arm.

 "Everybody starts somewhere, and we'll tone your training down for a little while to accommodate your arm." Reno replied laconically and finished the last of his dinner, "I'll do the dishes myself tonight. I suggest you turn in early, you're going to have a long _long_ day ahead of you tomorrow."

Rufus frowned and finished his own meal and handed the plate to Reno when he reached for it, "It's only a few chores, how hard could it be?"

Reno only smirked and started the washing up.

-=-=-=-

He hurt all over. 

Every inch of his body was doing overtime to explain how _it_ hurt far more then the rest of him, and he just knew that if he tried to move, it would get ten-times worse.

True to his promise, Reno had woken Rufus up at dawn and dragged him outside to a clearing that was on a small hill that overlooked the cottage. From there Reno had discovered new and exciting ways to torture his young charge, in the form of teaching him some tips on fighting with only one arm. Now, three hours later, Rufus was flat on his back and refusing to get up. He didn't care what happened, he was just going to lie there all day and die quietly.

"It's going to rain."

Rufus groaned, "I don't care."

"You'll get wet."

"I still don't care."

"You're not coming inside if you're wet."

Rufus peeled open one eyelid and peered up at Reno, then looked past him to the heavy black rain clouds overhead, "If you're wet do you have to stay outside too?"

"Huh? I'm not getting wet."

Rufus lifted a finger and pointed upwards and Reno followed the gesture in time to see the first of the rain smashing to the ground, "SonofaCetra!"

Reno stood up, intent on making a break for it, he was certain he could reach the cover of the cottage before the rain hit him, but found himself flat on the ground, "Oomfph!"

"If I'm getting wet, so are you, Turk." 

"That is unfair!" Reno pulled himself to his knees then, eyeing the rain, stood up again to make a second attempt on a run to the cottage.

"No you don't!" Rufus pushed himself off the ground and grabbed onto Reno's ankles, sending the Turk to the ground again.

"Rufus. Let go of me."

"No."

Reno, managing to get back on his feet, reached down and began trying to pull the grinning teenager off of him, "Get off _now_."

Rufus grabbed onto Reno's trouser leg with one hand and began fending off Reno's hands with the other, pretending to think about it, "Uhmmm… No."

"_Rufus_!" Reno managed to capture one of Rufus' hands in his own and began to peel the other one away from his trousers.

Rufus grinned then let go, knocking the Turk slightly off balance, then tackled him again, knocking them both straight down the hill, towards the cottage below.

And that's when the rain hit them.

The two were soaked within seconds and by the time they reached the bottom of the hill were also covered, head-to-toe, in mud.

Lying at the foot of the hill, getting even more wet in the rain that was falling in sheets, Rufus regained his breath then poked Reno in the shoulder, "Get off me."

Reno pushed himself up on his elbows then shook his head to clear it and glared down at Rufus, "I'm wet."

Rufus raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, "You are? How'd did that happen?"

Pushing himself up onto his knees then standing, Reno replied in the same tone, "Well y'see, I was pushed down a hill, in the rain, by this annoying brat I know."

"Really?" Rufus took the hand Reno offered him and stood up attempting to brush some of the mud off his clothes, "Anyone I know?"

Reno pushed his soaking fringe out of his eyes then peered towards where he was sure the cottage was, "Don't think so. Though if you see him, give him a kick for me. You'll recognise him. About your height, wears the same clothes. Won't be hard to miss."

"I'll keep my eye out." Frowning Rufus peered around at the dense rain as he started to shiver, "It's really raining isn't it."

Reno nodded absently, "C'mon. Better get inside before one of us catches a cold."

"Marvellous idea." Rufus commented then followed Reno to the cottage and inside with thoughts of a nice warm fire making him smile.

-=-=-=-=-

A nice warm fire, a cosy blanket on the floor and a nice warm meal in his stomach.

At least that's what Reno would have had if he hadn't decided that today would be a good time to start teaching Rufus to cook.

After the two had gotten inside from the rain they had for once, despite the lack of room to move, managed to get showered and changed without attempting to kill each other. With such an achievement behind them, Reno had thought that a cooking lesson was in order, how wrong he had been.

"I told you so…" Rufus muttered from his position on the floor, a foot away from the disaster that was supposed to have been stew.

Reno winced, "How you did that to stew I don't know. Even I picked up stew fairly easily." Reno sighed, "Okay throw it out the window or something."

Rufus stared at the pot doubtfully, "Should I throw the pot too? Cause I don't think the 'stew' will come out that easily."

"Point. Okay, shove it in the sink and fill it with hot water. Maybe that'll lift it a bit."

Rufus stood up to comply and Reno dug around till he found something they could eat without much effort, "Bread." he muttered then shrugged and sat back down in front of the fireplace and hacked the loaf in half.

"Don't think this means I'm giving up though." Reno said, taking a bite of his end of the loaf.

"You've got to be kidding." Rufus sat back down and grabbed his own peace of bread, "After that mess you're still going to try to get me cooking?"

"Of course. Okay so you suck at it. But if I had have given up every time I sucked at something…" he frowned suddenly then shook his head, "…I wouldn't be in a very nice place right now. So, you're going to keep trying until you can cook something that won't poison you."

"Poison _me_?"

Reno nodded, "I'm not eating any of that stuff. But _you_ are. Incentive, always works."

"Uh huh." Rufus chewed on his bread for a while then decided he didn't mind. What he _was_ minding was that he hadn't brought any really warm clothing with him and the turtleneck he'd browed off Reno was itchy as hell.  

Scratching his wrist where the wool was most irritating him, Rufus finished off his bread then looked over at Reno, "Okay fearless leader. Now what are we going to do?"

Reno pulled his eyes away from where he'd been staring into the fire and looked at Rufus, "Well… I don't know. I'd completely forgotten it was rainy season over here."

Rufus rolled his eyes, "In that case, I'm going to read a book."

"What?" Reno blinked at Rufus as the boy stood up and rummaged through his pack then carried his book over to the bed and made himself comfortable on it.

"Shut up, Turk."

"Throw me a pillow."

Rufus looked up at Reno, "What?"

"I said, throw me a pillow. I'm gonna take a nap."

Rufus shook his head then threw a spare pillow across the room, which Reno caught deftly, "Thanks."

Fluffing the pillow Reno put it on the floor in front of the fire then pulled the blanket he'd been sitting on over him and shut his eyes. Okay so lunch was a disaster, but you can't beat a nap in front of a fire on a rainy day…

-=-=-=-=-

~~~~~~~

"Bring the specimen."

"…Ahh…we can't."

"What do you mean you 'can't'? I said bring it, now bring it!"

"We've…lost it."

There was a long silence, and then, "You…'lost it'? How could you _lose_ it?!"

"He was right there! Then we had to calibrate the machine and by the time we finished, he wasn't there anymore."

"…Well go _find_ him! He's small; he can't have gotten far. _Go_!"

Reno watched, from his perch up the highest tree he'd been able to get in to, as men and women in long white coats ran out of the clearing and began to search through the forest, the fear of 'Him' put into them. It would have been funny, if he weren't so scared. 

He didn't know why they had taken him from his cell, taken him from the huge building he had known since he was little and to this weird place with… tall things. _Trees…?_ He'd heard about them, sometimes when the scientists were talking or from other kids who were put in Reno's cell with him. 

Either way, he didn't trust it. Weird or odd things normally meant he was going to hurt, and he was sick of hurting. So the second the scientists had taken their attention from the boy he'd run for it. He'd made it only a little way when he realised that running as far and as fast as possible was probably what the scientists would expect him to do. So instead, he hid. He found a tree that was big, that he could climb, that was as close to the scientists as he wanted to get, and climbed it. And now he was staying still and quiet.

Underneath him, 'He' was pacing backwards and forwards, muttering to himself about finding people who weren't incompetent.

Reno frowned, _pleasedon'tfindme, pleasedon'tfindme, pleasedon'tfindme_! 

Scraggly red hair fell into his face but Reno refrained from pushing it out of the way, he was terrified to move. It hadn't even occurred to him how he was gong to get out of the tree, or how long he'd have to stay up there before the scientists gave up and left. 

_Pleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindme!_

A man in a blue uniform ran into the clearing and saluted 'Him', "Sir, no reports of seeing the boy anywhere. He hasn't passed us."

'He' smiled, "So he's still close by then." There was a pause, "Cunning. The boy shows great cunning. Trees; have everybody start looking up trees. And don't injure him, that won't do my experiment any good at all." 

"Yes sir!"

Reno's heart sunk, it was only a matter of time now before they found him. Unless of course they didn't think he'd stay this close?

Reno hugged the sturdy branch he was laying on and closed his eyes tight, lips moving in his silent mantra. _Pleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindme._

"THERE! HE'S UP THERE!"

_NO!!_ Reno's eyes flew open in time to see two men in the blue uniforms climbing the tree he was in and 'Him' standing directly below, beaming as if he had found the boy himself, "Brilliant cunning. Yes! The Mako in his blood is certainly working for him! Bring him down gently! Or I'll be using you lot for my next experiment!"

Reno clung desperately to his tree branch but was pulled up quickly by the scruff of his neck then thrown down to a larger man, who caught him, then set him on his feet.

"Be careful! Take him inside."

Resisting, Reno was dragged into the small building, with 'Him' following behind, "Good, Good. Strap him to the table."

Reno screwed his eyes shut again and another familiar mantra began to become dominant in his thoughts. _Nononononononononononononononononononononononono!_

~~~~~~~~

-=-=-=-=-

Reno woke up with a start and stared unseeingly up at the person-shaped blur above him.

"Reno? _Reno!?_ Hey! Pay attention!" Something hit him hard on the cheek and he blinked rapidly to clear his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Hey? You awake? Com'on, sit up."

Reno felt someone pulling at his shoulder and obligingly sat up.

"Right, look at me."

Reno shook his head to clear it then glanced at whoever was doing all the talking, "Rufus?"

"Good! Hey, are you alright now?"

"I'm fine… what happened?"

Rufus sat back on his heels and looked Reno up and down then shrugged, "I dunno. I was reading my book when you started flailing around like a landed fish and muttering. I figured you were having bad dream so I tried to wake you up, you know, the way you showed me too," he made a vague gesture in the direction of Reno's left shoulder, "but you didn't wake up. _Then_ you started screaming. Then I just gave up and shook you till you stopped."

"Screaming?"

"Yeah, you just kept screaming 'No'." Rufus was looking at Reno oddly but, thankfully, kept his mouth shut, "You alright now?" he asked again and Reno rubbed his eyes and shook his fringe out of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm alright now. …Thanks."

"Anytime…" Rufus shrugged, "Now I'm hungry, make dinner."

Reno couldn't help but laugh, "I'm not your slave you know."

"Yes," Rufus agreed, "A serious oversight that I'll be speaking to my father about immediately. Till then you'll just have to volunteer."

Reno sighed then untangled himself from his blanket. At least it was the perfect excuse to get his mind off of his dream.

 As Reno bustled around the small 'kitchen' area of the cottage, Rufus watched him. This wasn't the first time Reno had had a bad 'dream', but it was certainly the worst. The Turk had been screaming a lot more then just 'No' and from his nighttime forays to Reno's open doorway, Rufus was beginning to get a pretty good, and fairly horrifying, idea of his shadows past.

 _But…do I stay quiet, or say something? I could ruin everything if I said something, but I don't like these dreams. I want to help._

"Reno."

Reno dropped the pot of water he'd been about to move from the sink to the stove and cursed colourfully. _Damnit!_

"What?" Reno didn't like the sound of Rufus' tone. _He's going to say something, hell he even used my name. Shi't._

"…Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. Sure. Why? Am I turning green or something?" Plastering a fake smile on his face, Reno filled the pot with water again then moved it over the stove to begin boiling.

Rufus frowned, "No… It's just this dream was a bad one. I just want to be sure your ok."

Reno's smiled faltered slightly, "It wasn't that bad, I've had worse." His voice turned mocking, "But, I'm honoured to have the great Rufus ShinRa worried about me, do you think you could write it down so I could have it laminated and framed?"

Rufus frowned, his brow furrowing in annoyance, "I'm just trying to help, you don't need to get smart."

"Well I've told you already. I'm fine; I don't need your help. Now would you just drop it? Go read your book or something."

"Fine! I'll drop it." Rufus pushed himself up from where he'd still been sitting on the floor and walked over to the bed then turned to face Reno's turned back, "But before I do; When a friend wakes up screaming as if the hounds of hell were after him, begging for the 'machine' to be switched off, you get worried. In fact you get so worried that you want to help as much as possible. And I'm not really familiar with the whole 'friendship' routine but I'm sure that when one offers the other help, it's at least _politely_ declined." 

Reno had gone cold as Rufus spoke and internally winced, "Well I guess you really aren't to familiar with the 'friendship' thing. Specially if you consider me a friend." He heard himself returning coldly.

Rufus froze in the act of sitting down then slowly stood up again. The warm feeling of contentment and tentative happiness he hadn't even realised had been growing within him was gone; shattered with just a few words.

 "I guess so… I had thought…" Rufus shook his head then suddenly walked to the door and grabbed the nearest jacket to hand, "My mistake. Sorry I bothered you."

Then he threw the door open and disappeared out it. To hell with the rain, that cottage was suddenly just too small.

**Footnote**

OMG! I _so_ didn't see that happening! I beg of you all, "Please don't kill me!" It'll get better, really it will…

Annnnd thanx to Lisa aka OniKoneko-chan for helping me work through this chapter and getting my muses working. 

Remember to Review!! My Muses work overtime when I get them!

~Vanyel aka Dokuja-sama~ 


	7. Meanwhile, back on the 'farm'...

**Disclaimer number one**: I, Vanyel Ashkevron aka Dokuja-sama (hereafter to be referred to as 'party 1'), hereby vow by the powers vested in me (party 1)- by myself, for myself, as myself, to myself- that I (party 1) shall not, can not, will not yell and/or pull evil faces at my editor/ proof/beta reader /partner-in-crime /OniKoneko-chan (hereafter to be referred to as 'party 2') if and/or when this idea for my fanfik blows up in/around/near/in-the-area-of my (party 1's) face/head/general-bodily-parts and shall do all, or perhaps none, of the above to myself/my muses/my voices (party 1) in a mirror/shiny-piece-of-metal/puddle/window and will remember to curse myself (party 1) for a baka as it will be all my/our (party 1's) fault.

**Disclaimer number two**: I, Party 1, declare, by the powers vested in me (party 1), -by myself, for myself, as myself, to myself- that I (party 1) do not have possession of/ hold-the-rights-too/ own Final Fantasy 7 (hereafter to be referred to as 'Party 3') nor do I (party 1) have possession of/hold-the-rights-too/own any Final Fantasy 7's (party 3's) Bishounen (hereafter to be referred of as 'party 4') and have no intention of attempting to claim them as my (party 1's) own. 

*Cough* 

This chapter has a point. I know it's slightly off topic from where, and what, you all want me to be writing…but this story does have a plot… Which I almost forgot about cause I was having far too much fun writing about Reno and Rufus. So now I'm catching up on myself, so bare with me… it'll be good in the end, I promise.

And THANX *big hugz to everyone* for all the reviews. To Race_Ulfson, sure, I'm pretty certain I can do something with Hojo… that man really bugs me. And Leslie…don't worry, I _will _put them back, next chapter…promise.

And this chapter is unbeta'ed. My Beta reader hasn't been online and I'm to impatient to wait for her sooo this chapter may sound funny or have strange abnormal spelling mistakes, and will probably be rewritten and reposted up at some point. 

Okay, **explanatory notes for this chapter**. We have a nicely confusing conversation done in the Turks Secret Sign Language (///_~ try saying that ten times fast) at the end of this chapter. _':Blah:' _Indicates Tseng speaking; _'::Blah::'_ Indicates Rude speaking. It shouldn't be too hard to follow…I hope.

Wow…major before-Fik spam… okay okay. This way please, don't cross over the yellow lines, keep your hands inside the ropeway and try not to push anybody over the side, the chasm below is quite deep and we couldn't afford to keep the water in the moat this week. Chapter 7 is at the end of the path, under the sign that says '7 retpahc'. (yes, our sign maker is dyslexic)

**Chapter 7**

Rudolph Cornelius Throckmorton, otherwise known as Rude, leaned against the wall of the Scientific Development Archive and watched Tseng flick idly through folders and other assorted pieces of paper.

"…Not a thing."

"Did you really expect there to be?"

Tseng placed the last of what he'd looked through back on the shelf and pushed a lock of dark midnight hair over his shoulder, "No, not really. But it was worth a shot. You'd be surprised what ends up where in this building."

Rude grunted and pushed himself away from the wall, following Tseng as he strode smoothly out the door and activated the lift. 

"Did you find out where Scarlet was sent too?" Tseng questioned quietly once they'd stepped into the lift and were safely on their way.

"North Corel. Explosion in the Reactor."

Tseng's lips compressed into a thin line, "And they sent Scarlet." He didn't sound happy.

"She's been…sucking up to the President lately." Rude volunteered, "Been trying to get a more active role in the running of things."

"Yes…" Tseng let his face go back to it's normal impassiveness as the lift doors opened, on a floor that only the Turks had access too, and stepped out into the hallway, "I've heard she has her sights set high. After that unfortunate incident with the Presidents wife, she seemed to get the idea there was a vacancy to fill."

Rude grunted and followed Tseng into his office and slumped into the chair across from where Tseng seated himself at his desk.

"There's only one other place I can think of to search," Tseng stated, going back to their previous conversation, "Nibelheim."

Rude's eyebrows shot upwards and Tseng smiled slightly.

"Hojo did a lot of his earlier research and experiments in the ShinRa mansion. The records of those, and anything he's been doing that he shouldn't have been, will be there. I'm sure of it."

 Rude nodded then lifted an eyebrow again, "How do we explain going there? Nibelheim's been quiet since the rebuilding."

Tseng smiled and lifted a thin sheet of paper from his desk and reviewed its contents, "I have reason to believe one Aeris Gainsborough is in the Nibelheim area…" he handed the paper over to Rude who read over it quickly.

"So we go on official business…?"

"Exactly."

Rude nodded slightly then rose to his feet, "And we leave…?"

"First thing in the morning."

"I'll get things arranged."

-=-=-=-=-

Tseng stepped off the helicopter and waited for Rude, and the small group of blue-clad soldiers, to follow him, then marched into Nibelheim; heading for the ShinRa mansion.

 "Should I have the men search the town for the Ancient?" Rude questioned as he looked around at the frightened townsfolk.

Tseng nodded and Rude gestured to the men marching behind them, "Search every building. Report to the Mansion when you're finished."

The blue-clad men saluted and all but two raced off to begin their first search of the town.

"Sir…you can't come in here!" A nervous young man in a laboratory coat stopped Tseng and Rude at the front door of the mansion, "It's off limits!"

Tseng lifted an eyebrow at the young man, "You are?"

The young man blushed, "Ahhh… W…William Tenser, of the Scientific Development Department. Sir."

"You hold no…" Tseng made a vague gesture, "rank or anything within the Department?" As the young man shook his head Tseng smiled thinly, "You know who I am?"

Again the young man shook his head, this time his face going pale.

"Tseng, head of the Manufacturing Department of Administrative Research. You know what that means?"

This time the young man nodded hastily.

"And?"

"R…right this way, Sir!" The young man blurted out and quickly moved out of the Turks way, "Dr. Lesha is in charge of this site, he's in his office, up the stairs, on the right."

"Thank you." Tseng waved at the boy vaguely again, "That will be all. You two remain here." He halted the two blue-clad men at the door as well, then he and Rude climbed the stairs quickly.

"Who're you! You can't come in here!" The moment Tseng and Rude stepped into the room-turned-office a small man in another white coat leapt up and glared at them, "This is a restricted site! Only authorized personal are to be admitted."

Tseng dug around in his pockets for a moment then pulled out a small black wallet and flipped it open to reveal a very official looking ShinRa ID.

"Ahhh…" Dr. Lesha stopped talking -mid sentence- sounding slightly strangled, "I'm sorry sir, I wasn't aware you were coming. If I had been informed…"

"But that would have defeated half the point of the visit now wouldn't it Dr.…?"

"Lesha, Dr. Desmond Lesha."

"…Dr. Lesha. As I'm sure you're aware, our department isn't interested in what the other departments can put together to impress us. We want to see everything as it normally functions."

"Of course…" for some reason the Dr. was beginning to look slightly panicked and Tseng had to stop his mouth from curling into a triumphant smirk.

"Myself and Agent Throckmorton will be residing here in the mansion for our stay, we have a contingent of soldiers with us also who are on a retrieval mission for the Scientific Development Department, you're Department I believe, and will need access to the mansion to make reports. They will of course be staying at the Inn. We don't want them to get under your feet." Tseng offered the Dr. a tight-lipped business smile then continued, "We would be quite pleased if we had your utmost cooperation Dr. Lesha, We aren't really here to cause trouble, just to do our job. We will need full access to your files and data stores. And will be calling up various members of your staff to ask questions. There won't be a problem with that will there?"

Dr.Lesha shook his head mutely then coughed, finding his voice, "No…no of course not. I can have everything prepared for you in an hour, would you like some refreshments? You must have had a long trip."

Tseng narrowly stopped himself from smirking again and nodded politely, "Yes of course. You don't mind if we wait here do you?" Not bothering to wait for an answer Tseng seated himself, and Rude loomed behind him, his eyes flicking rapidly around the room, noting everything from behind his shades.

"O…of course not. If you'll excuse me I'll order the preparations."

Tseng nodded graciously as the man hurried from the room, then let himself have the smirk he'd been suppressing, "And _that,_ Rude, is why I adore my job."

-=-=-=-=-

"No sign of the Ancient, Sir. But there have been reports of seeing someone matching the description. The last sighting was this morning, at the Inn." The last soldier of the search party reported to Tseng in a clipped manner and saluted.

Tseng nodded silently, he hadn't expected to catch the girl anyway, and she was far to smart to be caught by common blues, "Very well, report to your commanding officer at the Inn."

"Yes, sir!" The man saluted then left.

"Err… Sir?" The young man who had barred their way earlier that morning hesitantly stood in the doorway, clutching a pile of folders to his chest, "H…here are the code files you requested sir."

Tseng frowned and gestured for William to put them on the desk, "And where is Dr. Lesha?" Tseng questioned, "I was under the impression that he was the one in charge here."

William hastily dumped the files on the desk, "H…he is, Sir. But he ordered me to tell you that there was a sudden emergency up at the reactor that required his assistance, and that if you needed anything to simply ask me. I…I know most of what goes on around here, Sir."

Tseng lifted an eyebrow, "I wasn't aware that the Dr. was part of the team stationed here to maintain the Reactor."

"H…he isn't, Sir. But they like to call on him because of his extensive knowledge of Mako Energy…." William trailed off at the look Tseng was directing at him then made a hasty decision he knew he was probably going to regret, "An experiment is being conducted at the Reactor that Dr. Lesha has been ordered to oversee. It keeps causing malfunctions and has to be watched closely."

Tseng smiled slightly at the young man, his first genuine smile since he had arrived, "Very good William. For future reference, I know a great deal about what happens around ShinRa and your Scientific Department is no exception. I know about the experiment being conducted in the Mt. Nibelheim Reactor, I also know that one of those 'malfunctions' was the cause of this town being burnt to the ground a year ago. Please, don't try and hide anything from me, or you will get not just yourself, but your entire department in trouble. Understand?"

William nodded rapidly, "Y…yes, Sir. I…I understand."

"Good. Now exactly what is it you do around here William?"

"I'm…a bit of a gofer, Sir. I do whatever needs doing. I'm learning a great deal." The young man's face lit up with a half fanatical light, "I always knew that there was more to Science then my Ma always said there was. Working here, even as just a gofer has been a dream come true!"

 "Err…yes." Tseng interrupted before he ended up getting the young man's life story and pulled the pile of folders towards him. "I'll need a list of all staff on this site, and up at the reactor. Make sure no one is missed out. I want to begin talking to them first thing tomorrow. And William?" William stopped nodding as if his head would drop off.

"Y…yes, Sir?"

"Make sure everyone else knows that I won't tolerate falsehood about anything I ask. I will be taking very exact notes and if anyone is found lying they will be in a great deal of trouble."

William nodded again and Tseng gestured to the door, opening his first set of files, "Dismissed."

-=-=-=-=-

"They're hiding something."

Rude grunted in response and carried on typing on his laptop, frowning in concentration.

Pacing across the room for the millionth time, Tseng frowned and covered his face with his hands, "And they're hiding it well. When I ask questions about the Reactor, I get good solid answers. But when I ask about the research going on here I suddenly start getting vague answers. No one seems to know what anyone else is doing, other then the fact that it has to do with Mako energy, and it's an offshoot of the research being done in the Reactor."

Rude grunted again, not really paying attention to the information he'd heard out of Tseng for the fourth or fifth time that day, "These files are all in order. Except…there's something odd."

"Odd? How odd?" Tseng was leaning over Rude's shoulder in an instant, his eyes moving quickly over the streams of data that scrolled up the screen.

"I think they're tracking me through their system. And moving files around."

Tseng frowned, "How?"

"Not sure…But I think I know how to turn the tables on them." Frowning again at the screen, Rude pulled a set of disks out of his pocket and selected one, seemingly at random, and put it in the machine, "Give me about two hours. I should be able to put a tracker on their tracker. We'll end up running around in tight wee circles but it'll give me something to work on."

Tseng blinked owlishly for a moment then shook his head, "I hate computers." He muttered then stood up straight, "If it'll catch them, do it. I'm going to go back into town and see if any new reports of Aeris have popped up. That girl is really beginning to irritate the red's." His tone was slightly admiring.

Rude grunted and focused on his laptop and Tseng smiled slightly, you could always trust Rude to give an honest opinion.

Turning on his heel, Tseng walked out of the large room on the ground floor and marched to the exit, nodding to the door guard on the way passed, and made his way to the town Inn. 

The Red that was in charge of the troop searching for the Ancient was standing outside the Inn door, taking reports from his men, "Found anything yet Commander?" Tseng asked in his quiet voice as he approached.

"No, Sir." The man dismissed his men and saluted Tseng, "Numerous sightings of her in the area and sometimes even in the town, but she keeps slipping right passed us. I'm beginning to think the towns folk are hiding her."

"Don't be ridiculous Commander. These people are dedicated supporters of ShinRa. Inc. I'm sure they wouldn't do something so foolish as to harbour someone they knew we were looking for."

 The Reds lips pressed into a thin line but he nodded, "Of course, Sir. But for the record sir, I'm not discounting the possibility."

Tseng smiled thinly, "Good."

The red saluted again, "If you don't mind sir, I have a few more reports to take."

Tseng nodded, "Of course."

Tseng wandered away from the red and began to walk slowly towards the edge of town. Nibelheim was fast becoming one of Tseng's favourite mysteries. First the bungled experiment that had led to the malfunction of the Mt. Nibelheim Reactor; which had resulted in the entire Sephiroth affair…

Now it was the site of an unknown experiment, that apparently had something to do with the Mt. Nibelheim experiments, and the last remaining Ancient, whom the Turks had been attempting to capture for nearly 3 years now, had shown up and, as far as Tseng could tell, was searching for someone.

"Curiouser and curiouser…" Tseng muttered to himself then jumped as a dark shape moved out of the shadows and blocked his path.

"Little far from town, aren't you Tseng?"

Tseng eyed the figure before him as his lips twitched up into a smile, "Well, when ones thoughts get going one does tend to lose track of their whereabouts."

The figure smiled and clasped their hands behind their back and lent forward slightly, "I've never really had that problem, I always know where I am."

"Well not all of us have the luxury of being able to talk to the planet Aeris; in fact, I'd rather view it as cheating."

Aeris smiled again then gestured to a stand of trees to her left, "We need to talk. If you're really here for what my information tells me you're here for… then I think we can do a deal."

Tseng lifted an eyebrow then nodded, "After you."

Aeris smiled then disappeared into the copse of trees.  

-=-=-=-=-

Three hours later Tseng walked into the large room of the ShinRa mansion the Turks had claimed as their own and was promptly grabbed by an agitated looking Rude.

"What happened?"

Tseng blinked, "I was delayed…why?"

Rude frowned, "You've been gone three hours. I was about to send out a search party."

Tseng shrugged elegantly and walked across the room to the desk that had been set up for him, "I met up with an old friend. We ended up chatting far longer then we should have." Tseng said easily, meanwhile his hands were busy.

_':Bumped into Aeris. I was right, she has been searching for someone and found them too. She had some rather interesting things to tell me:'_

Rude grunted, "Next time, send a messenger or something." _'::Bumped into? What kind of things? Who?::'_

"Who are you, my mother? I didn't get to be the head of this Department by walking around half-asleep you know." _':She caught me walking around the edges of town. She's managed to find out about the experiments going on here, don't ask me how she found out, trying to convince her to tell me is what took me so long. She won't tell:'_

Rude grunted again and sat down at his laptop, surreptitiously angling it so he could still see Tseng hands, "Just send a note next time. Before I end up marching the army around looking for you."

_':She was looking for her boyfriend:' _Tseng continued as Rude spoke, _':Turns out he came on a mission here about a year ago and never came back. In fact, she's never even heard of him on the death-roles. Guess which mission:'_

"I don't know, an army marching around looking for me could be fun."

_'::I don't think I _need_ to guess. There were two ShinRa personal lost in that incident wasn't there? A Soldier and a Blue::'_

_':Bingo, By the names of Zack, Soldier First class, and Cloud Strife, the blue. Zack is the boyfriend Aeris is looking for:'_

_'::You said she found him?::'_

"Don't even try it, wasting company time is a definite 'no'."

"Suppose you're right. Did you manage to hack into that tracker?"

_':Indeed I did. She says that Hojo took both Strife and Zack after the incident. Both of them were found near dead and Hojo decided they'd make excellent test subjects:'_

_'::I have a feeling I know where this is going::'_ "Hn… Yes I managed to hack into the tracker, but that's about all I've managed to do. All this code I'm staring at now is the two of us dancing merrily around in circles. Him trying to get away and hide files; me trying to catch him, or the files."

_':You're on a role today Rude. Our boys are the experiment these lovely Doctors are attempting to hide, and you'll never guess where they are:'_ "Right…it's all gibberish to me. Have I told you I hate computers? Just let me know when you've caught something."

_'::I give up.::'_

':You give up far to easily.  Strife and Zack are right beneath us. Apparently this building has a basement accessed by a secret door in Dr. Lesha's office. Aeris' knowledge ends there though. She said we'd have to figure the rest out ourselves. Lucky the Presidents dearly departed wife did that bit for us:'

"Of course. Now shut up so I can work."

Tseng smiled slightly in Rudes direction then 'glanced down' at the files he'd opened on the desk.

'::So this is what those files were on about? I hadn't thought they'd use humans to do that sort of thing…but then, this is Hojo we're talking about. Any thing to try and get the better of Gast::'

':Exactly. The question is. What should we do about it? We really need to contact Reno, this sort of thing is more in his area…:'

'::You know what his answer will be::'

':Yes. But it always pays to make sure:'

'::When?::'

':Video linkup at Midnight?:'

'::Can do::'

':We'll do that then:'

-=-=-=-=-

Remember to R&R!!


	8. Of Thunderstorms and Wet Turks

**Disclaimer**: *bounces in on a Pogo stick* They. *bounce* Do. *bounce* Not. *bounce* Belong. *bounce* To. *bounce* Me. *bounces off screen where a sudden crash is heard followed by a cloud of dust* …… *silence* ….. *silence* ……… I'm ALRIGHT!.. I'm O K…. 

~~~~~~ Denotes dream sequence.

I apologise for the Jumpy POV. I couldn't seem to figure out which bloke to stick with.

Chapter 8 

~~~~~~~~~

Reno glared belligerently at the young woman, in the white lab coat, that stood in front of him, peering at a clipboard worriedly.

"It's policy!" Reno insisted, "I looked it all up in the computers, you can check them yourself if you want."

The woman glanced at him sharply, "What do you mean you looked it up in the computers. You don't have access."

Reno snorted, "You mean to tell me you've put all this effort into Mako enhancing me and you don't think I'm good enough to play with these machines you've got here? You people are so thick you scare me."

The woman frowned, "There'll be none of that language out of you young man, not if you want me to do anything about this anyway."

Reno glowered, "You think I need _your_ help? Telling you about this only makes it easier, and stops your Department getting into a lot more trouble then I bet I'm worth."

"And what would you do if I _didn't_ help?" The Lab technician was beginning to get annoyed with this young boy and it was showing.

Reno smirked, "I'm sure this Department doesn't _really_ need its computer records…does it? Actually…" he put his finger to his chin and pretended to think hard, "…I bet this entire building doesn't need any of its computer files, does it? And you know what?" Reno leaned forward, his eyes bright, "I know Hojo's Security codes."

The Lab Technicians eyes went wide, "You wouldn't."

Reno pushed his fringe out of his eyes, "I want _out_ of here. And I want out _now_."

The woman glared at Reno then nodded, "You know you can only move Departments. You can't leave ShinRa. I may be able to get you into Soldier…"

"Manufacturing Department of Administrative Research." Reno butted in and enjoyed the look on the woman's face.

"With all your enhancements you want a desk job?!"

Reno grinned, "Sure, why not. It has a nice ring to it."

The woman shook her head, "Hojo won't like this at all."

"He doesn't have to like it." Reno's eyes had begun to glow faintly, his hatred being reflected by the Mako that infected him, "He agreed to the provision on his human experiments. He let Sephiroth out, and I'm going too."

"Sephiroth is a completely different case. He was designed to be in Soldier and that's exactly where he went."

Reno waved a hand negligently, "Whatever, either way I survived what Hojo did to me and now I get _out_!"

The woman sighed then turned to leave, "Manufacturing Department of Administrative Research… I don't even know what they _do_!"

Reno smirked as the door shut behind the woman then spoke to empty air, "I know what they do…and being a Turk sounds like fun."

Taking the pen he'd 'lifted' from the Lab tech's pocket and twirling it in his fingers, Reno began to hum then grinned again, "Happy Birthday to me… 14 is such a wonderful age…"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Reno's eyes flew open and he stared at the glowing embers of the dying fire directly in front of him, and then sighed. At least this time it had been one of his happy memories; three days after that day he'd been transferred through to the ranks of the Turks and began training. He suddenly smirked. Tseng hadn't known what'd hit him when his new, 14-year-old, recruit had joined them and begun to live his newfound freedom to the fullest. Mayhem was far to mild a word to describe the situation; Reno was surprised he'd survived as long as he had.

Rolling over onto his back, Reno stretched his hands over his head and listened to the silence for a while. He blinked into the darkness, something wasn't quite right…

Sitting up, Reno glanced over the bed to check on Rufus and suddenly realized what was wrong. He couldn't hear Rufus' breathing…because Rufus wasn't there.

Reno was on his feet in an instant and pulling his pants on over his boxers. 

Don't panic, he can't have gone far. He's been acting distant since…the other night, he's probably just outside the door, getting some fresh air.

 Grabbing his gun from the pocket of his coat, Reno pulled the cottage door open and peered outside into the moonlit night. Nothing.

He stood in the doorway scanning the area then sighed and shut the door again. _He'll come back when he's ready…_

Sitting back on his bedding in front of the fireplace, Reno pulled his knees up to his chest and stared into the fire's dying embers.

 …_This is all my fault. But…he should have left it alone when I told him too. My past is none of his business not even if he were a friend…which he isn't of course; he's my boss. You don't make friends with your boss. Not even if that's exactly what they need…_

Reno shook his head and glared into the dead fire as if it was the cause of his problems, "You don't get personally involved with your work, ever." Angrily he slammed his right hand into the floor, using the pain to try and focus, "What's wrong with being friends though?! It would certainly make things easier between us, and protecting someone who trusts you is easier then protecting one who doesn't…"

Reno sighed; it wasn't being friends with Rufus that was bothering him, not really. What was bothering him was how close Rufus was getting. _He's getting under my skin, doing more then just getting into my life; he's getting into my…_ Reno stopped the thought abruptly and stood up. He was not about to start thinking like that, not now, not ever. There wasn't room in his life for that sort of thing; he wasn't the sort of person who even contemplated that sort of thing.

"Damnit…!" Reno frowned around the empty room then headed towards the door. Rufus had been gone far to long, it was about time Reno started doing his job again and went looking for him.

-=-=-=-=-

Raining. Again.

Rufus closed his eyes as the sky opened up and drenched him to the bone within seconds.

Why did it feel so cramped within the small cottage all-of-a-sudden? It hadn't been so bad at first, but now… Rufus didn't like to be closed in with Reno. Didn't like having his gaze drifting constantly to the red head, the way he was always aware of where and what the Turk was doing, or that even when Reno was sleeping Rufus' attention was brought to him.

"…I don't want to know your there…" he whispered into the rain. 

Taking his hands out of his pockets, Rufus pushed his soaking hair back off his forehead and wiped the rain out of his eyes, "Bastard."

A blast of wind and rain hit Rufus from behind and carried an odd sound to him.

"…'nofaCetra! If he hasn't been eaten by a Head-Hunter, I'll shoot him in the head!"

Rufus turned around just as Reno struggled to the top of the hill, dressed in nothing more then a pair of soaking wet trousers.

Reno instantly spotted Rufus and, tucking the gun into the back of his trousers, made his way through the rain, the expression on his face rivalling the storm for the role of most thunderous.

Rufus felt his face grow hot as he watched Reno walking half naked towards him, the wet trousers clinging to the Turks legs like a second skin. Slightly flustered he blurted out the first thing that came to him, "Aren't you cold?"

Reno paused then ignored the question, "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Rufus pushed his wet hair off his face again and glared at Reno, the blush receding as his previous mood suddenly coming back to him, "I thought that would be obvious."

Reno put his hands on his hips and glared through the rain, "Yes. It's fairly obvious you're being a complete idiot. I really didn't think you were stupid enough to, not just wander off into the forest in the middle of the night, but to do it in a thunderstorm too."

Rufus pushed his wet fringe out of his eyes again and looked meaningfully at Reno's soaked, half-naked state, "At least I'm properly _dressed_ for it."

Reno's eyes narrowed in barely suppressed anger and he took a breath, counting to ten, before he responded as calmly as he could, "That is _not_ the point. The _point_ is that you shouldn't be wandering around out here on your own. I didn't bring you here just for you to be eaten by wild Head-Hunters." 

"Gee. Wouldn't that be a shame..."

"Rufus!" Reno said sharply.

Rufus turned away from Reno slightly then turned back, his eyes flashing, "Why are you even bothering? You're my bodyguard, not my psychiatrist. You don't have to make sure I'm happy or acting my age, you only have to make sure I don't die. So why do you care?"

With a last gust of wind the rain suddenly cut off and Reno shivered slightly. OK, this wasn't going well. _Distraction…distraction. Damn it, I need a distraction._

"We should go inside while the rain's stopped." Reno stated.

Rufus frowned, "No. You should answer my question." He crossed his arms over his chest, "Why_ do you care?_"

"What makes you think I do?" Reno shot back sharply, "I'm trying to get you to go inside so you don't catch pneumonia. Concern for you health is doing my job."

"And being concerned over acting like an idiot is as well?"

Reno focused his gaze slightly over Rufus' left shoulder; "If you're acting irrationally you could put your own life at risk, which makes my job harder."

Rufus paused, "Of course. And Ancient's forbid I make your job harder." He retorted quietly and turned his back on Reno completely, glaring up at the heavily overcast sky. 

_Yes, the Job. Mustn't forget the Job. A Turk has no friends other then the people he works with, silly to think anything else. And I'm doubly stupid to wish we could just ignore this and go back to the way things were before. We can't, I want him to be what he can't be. Why can't I just accept it? _

_…Because he's there all the time, _A traitorous inner voice replied._ Here, right in front of me, where I can watch him. I smile when he does something stupid, try not to laugh when he says something funny, and ache on the inside when I know he's having one of those 'dreams'. I have to get rid of him…or I'll go insane…but I don't want to. I have to have him near…I like him being close to me… _"Anceints I'm so screwed up." He whispered fiercely to himself.

Reno bit his lip as Rufus turned his back and took a deep breath. _This is _not_ working. I'm breaking him into tiny pieces, just because I can't handle having someone close to me. And every time I open my mouth I end up saying something that makes that look come into his eyes…that damned look, which makes me want to hold him till he feels better. _Reno shivered and crossed his arms over his chest. _The least I can do is say I'm sorry…I shouldn't take away the only friend he's ever had just because I have issues._

"Rufus?" he said quietly but the blonde boy didn't seem to hear him.

Stepping forward, Reno put his hand awkwardly on Rufus' shoulder, jolting the blonde out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry."

Rufus blinked and turned his head slightly to look at Reno out of the corner of his eye, "What?"

Reno closed his eyes then opened them again, "I said… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten snide at you when you were only trying to help. And I certainly shouldn't have let it go on for as long as it did. I _do_ worry for you more then is just my job, even if I'm not supposed to, and you got me more then a little scared when I couldn't find you earlier." Reno paused and transferred his grip on Rufus' shoulder, down to his upper arm, and stepped forward and leaned over the boy's shoulder, looking at him side on, "Now could we go back to the cottage please. I'm _really_ cold."

Involuntarily Rufus' mouth quirked into a small smile, "You should have though of that before you ran naked into the forest."

Reno stepped back and released Rufus' arm, mourning the warmth of the others body, and affected an offended expression, "I'm not naked."

Rufus turned and looked Reno up and down, "Close enough."

Irrationally Reno blushed and had to forcibly stop himself from crossing his arms over his chest, "So are we alright now?"

Rufus tilted his head slightly, studying Reno in the near darkness. _There's something…the look in his eyes, different from the look on his face. It's almost as if…_Pieces of information suddenly clicked together to make a whole in Rufus' mind and his eyes widened in sudden understanding, then he smirked, this certainly called for action…but what kind?

Reno was beginning to get nervous again. Rufus was suddenly looking at him with the oddest expression. 

_That's it. He has a foolproof plan of revenge; he's going to make me stand out here till my nipples freeze off._

Shivering, Reno frowned, his eyes turning inward in contemplation. _Okay, so maybe we're not alright now. He's not doing or saying anything…maybe he's gone to sleep? Nope, don't think so. Maybe he's going to hit me, possible. Or he could…_

_…??!!_  

The frown had obviously spurred Rufus into action. As soon as the expression flitted across Reno's face Rufus' course of action occurred to him in perfect simplicity.

Leaning forward Rufus, for one startling moment, pressed his lips lightly to Reno's, then pulled away.

Or rather he started too. 

As he began to pull away, Reno's hand snaked upwards and attached itself to the front of the blonde's shirt, pulling him forward to deepen the kiss.

Rufus felt a moment of startlement; then, his hands unconsciously coming up to rest against the older mans naked chest, he melted into it.

Reno's mind had gone blank. The moment he had felt the soft press of Rufus' lips against his own, his thought process had shut down, his consciousness suddenly swimming in a blissful white fog. He was a creature of sensation, the brushes of skin-on-skin awakening desire within him, along with a deeper sensation, infinitely harder to acknowledge.

Reno grasped Rufus' arms tightly and pulled the willing boy closer, his tongue brushing lightly over the boy's closed lips; then pushed passed them as they hesitantly parted.

Rufus tasted almost sweet Reno's sluggish mind noted absently, and sort of cinnamon-y. Something wet hit him in the back of the neck but Reno ignored it and deepened the kiss further still, his hands moving slowly from Rufus' arms to his back.

Something wet hit him again. 

Then a solid wind knocked the two back a step, and the rain began again in earnest.

With the return of the rain came Reno's senses. What had he been doing? He had been kissing Rufus. He had been _kissing_ Rufus. He had been _kissing_ **_Rufus_**!

A flush spreading through him, warming him from the chill rain that was plastering his hair flat to his head, Reno suddenly let go of the blonde as if he'd been stung, stumbling backwards slightly, his mind in an uproar.

_I was kissing Rufus. Kissing _Rufus_! Oh ancients, I kissed him. Not just any kiss, I put my tongue down his throat. He's going to kill me. His father will kill me. _Rude_ will kill me. I'm going to kill me. What was I thinking?! I wasn't thinking. I can't have been thinking. Now what do I do? I have to apologise. I have to…to…_

He was suddenly jolted out of his hectic thoughts by a warm hand touching the frozen skin of his arm.

"…Go inside!" Rufus yelled at him over the sound of the rain and winds that were working up to gale force.

Reno blinked then nodded numbly and followed Rufus' prompting touch, his thoughts still whirling.

…_He doesn't look angry. But then it's to dark, maybe I'm just hoping. I shouldn't hope, soon as we're inside he's going to kill me. Will I get to apologise first? I have to make sure I do. Warmth? Oh, the cottage. We're inside. Have to apologise _now_…_

"Rufus…" Reno began, ignoring the sudden burning in his skin as the heat of the cottage assaulted his wet, cold skin.

Rufus didn't bother to listen to anything else Reno had to say. From Reno's reaction when the storm began again, Rufus had already guessed what Reno was going to say. And be wasn't prepared to listen to it. He'd finally figured out why Reno acted so oddly to him sometimes and, to his own surprise, the reason delighted him.

Rufus' name had barely left Reno's lips when said boy pressed himself up against the slightly shivering man, his arms wrapping lightly around the red-head's neck, and his lips pressing against the other's firmly. Rufus shivered as he felt Reno react again, almost immediately; then noticed that Reno was shivering too, from more then just the kiss.

Ending his second real kiss, Rufus frowned at Reno then pulled him over to the fire and began to stir it up, coxing it slowly into a roaring blaze as, behind him, Reno shivered and stared at him confusedly.

_That…didn't seem to be the reaction of an angry person._ Reno's thought process seemed to be attempting to make up for stopping earlier and now it was speeding along double time, obviously having problems now that it had been thrown a curve and was coming close to careening off it's tracks. _He kissed me._ He blinked as something occurred to him._ He started it. He kissed me first. Why would he do that? Does that mean…? No, of course not. But maybe it does. Could it? What if it does? Do I want it to? Of course I do? But why would he want me? But we can't anyway…but I really want too…_

Reno watched as Rufus finally got the fire stoked into a proper blaze then, with a frown in Reno's direction, straightened up and went to rummage through his things then promptly disappeared into the bathroom to get changed into dry clothes.

_I kissed Reno!_ The thought finally hit Rufus as he began to peel his multiple layers of wet clothing off. _I can't believe I did that…twice. But I did. And he didn't kill me; he kissed me back! He _wanted_ to kiss me, and _I_ wanted him to kiss me! I _still_ want him to kiss me!_

_But what if that's all he wants? No. I saw it in his eyes, but…what am I going to do? What are _we_ going to do? What _should_ we do? See if we can ignore this? It'd be hard. But what if he wants too? No, I _know_ he wants to ignore this…but I don't. I like him, a lot. We have to do something about this…have to… Oh Ancients! What would father say?! We'd have to hide it from him, easily done. What about Tseng? Rude?_ Rufus suddenly remembered the conversation between Reno and Rude weeks ago, '"_Reno if you seduce that kid I'll personally chop you into small pieces and feed you to the Midgar Zolom_."'

Rufus frowned and paused in the act of pulling his T-Shirt on over his head. Rude would certainly disagree and Reno, no matter how much he would protest the fact, looked up to the huge man – would Reno refuse to be with Rufus just to make Rude happy?

Rufus felt a surge of jealousy wash through him; what was Rude to the red-haired Turk anyway? What exactly _was_ their relationship? Rufus had always assumed them to be nothing more then close friends…but what if they were more? Was Rufus an unwitting interloper now destroying a happy relationship? Maybe Rude's threat hadn't been on Rufus' behalf, but on his own? Was Reno well known for sleeping around then, that Rude had to keep an eye on him?

Rufus' traitorous thoughts came to a sudden halt at the sound of banging on the bathroom door.

"…Rufus?" Reno called through the solid barrier of wood and Rufus shook his head and pulled his T-Shirt on properly, then kicked his wet clothes into the corner before pulling the door open.

Reno had gotten changed into some dry clothes too and Rufus frowned at the loss of the brilliant view of the Turks naked chest before mentally kicking himself, "Sorry… You look warmer."

Reno glanced down at his mercifully dry clothes and smirked slightly, "Not really much of a difference. But I guess being inside helps."

Rufus nodded and leant back on the doorframe of the bathroom and studied the worn wooden floor at his feet. _What do I say? What do I do? I have to know about Rude but…how do I bring it up?_ 'Oh, by the way, you're not sleeping with Rude are you?' _Nope, defiantly not the thing to say._

"…Rufus. About before…" Reno began, overriding Rufus' thoughts making him glance up, "I really don't think…it was such a good idea. You really shouldn't have…"

Rufus butted in, catching one word, "_I_ shouldn't have?"

Reno glanced up from where his gaze had been studying the same piece of floor Rufus had been earlier, "Well yes. You did it."

"You continued it."

"I didn't have much of a choice."

"Oh?" Rufus felt colour rising to his cheeks, "Truss you up and pin you down did I?"

Reno frowned, "That's not what I meant!"

"So what _did_ you mean?" Rufus crossed his arms over his chest.

Reno sighed, "Never mind. It shouldn't have happened, whoever started it, and I think we should carry on as if it _hadn't_ happened."

"Why?" Rufus couldn't stop the question; he had to know.

"What?" Reno looked slightly startled.

"Why shouldn't it have happened?" Rufus continued doggedly.

Reno frowned, looking around the room for a distraction and not finding one, "Well, you're the son of my boss, not to mention my boss as well. You're going to be the next president of ShinRa so the reputation of 'being' with your employees won't go down well, and you're barely sixteen." Reno looked at Rufus seriously, "And being around me is not the greatest thing you could do for yourself."

Rufus waited a moment, contemplating, as Reno grew silent, then, "Is that all?"

Reno blinked, wasn't that enough? "Yeah…"

"You're sure? Nothing else? No other reasons?"

Reno looked at Rufus oddly, "Not that I can think of at the moment…"

Rufus smiled. _Yes! He's not with Rude!_

Ignoring everything else the Turk had listed, Rufus closed the gap between them for the third time that night and wrapped his arms about the startled man's neck, "Then we don't have a problem then."

"What?"

"We don't have a problem," the blonde repeated, "I want you; you want me. We'll keep it quiet so the old man doesn't find out. You can decide about Tseng and Rude. Everything will be fine."

Reno frowned at the young man hanging off his neck and tried half-heartedly to dislodge him, "It's not that easy. Do you know what would happen to me if anyone in power found out? I, and Tseng, would get into some serious trouble!"

Rufus sighed, "I know. But I _want_ this Reno. And I know you want it too. You're pretending you don't, but I can see it in your eyes. I won't let my father, or anyone else stop us. I'll do what I want, I don't care who disapproves."

Reno stared at the fierce look on Rufus' face and realised two things immediately, 

One: Nobody would stop Rufus if he decided he wanted something.

Two: He was horribly cute with that expression on his face.

"If anybody found out…" Reno began, still doubtful.

"They won't. And if they do," Rufus pushed his fringe out of his eyes and smiled, "I know a group of Turks that I bet get bored easily."

Reno blinked, then sighed and lifted Rufus up, carrying him over to the fire and setting them both down in its warmth, "I've created a monster." He muttered under his breath and Rufus smirked then pulled Reno's head down for another of the kisses he was really beginning to like.

-=-=-=-=-

Remember to R&R!  
And just for the record, I really hate this chapter but I couldn't seem to get it to do anything other then suck! The mood changes a lot, mainly cause I wrote different parts of it at different times and even in different places, (I think the people at our local Burger King have made a note to keep napkins close by when I'm around ///_^) Anyway Review away, feel free to beat me up for making such a muck up of this chapter.  

~Vanyel~


	9. The plan was perfect...at least at first

Yatta! Yes indeed I finally finished Chapter 9! Aren't you all so proud of me!!? *Coughs guiltily* I'm sorry it took so long, but I couldn't seem to get into the mood to write; then, just last night, I was writing an e-mail and BAM! I felt like writing. Please don't anyone hit me for this chapter… Though I admit I've actually been looking forward to this bit *cackles* REMEMBER TO R&R!!

~Vaneyl aka. Dokuja-sama~

Oh yeah, belated answers to reviews on Chapter 8 – 

Ians-Koibito: *cries* yes Reno _would_ put up more of a struggle…but I couldn't seem to make it happen. I really hate chapter 8 but I STILL can't seem to fix it. I'm working on it though. The entire story is being revised so chapter 8 _will _be fixed.

Leslie: Thank you so much for _all_ of your reviews…and your hurry along e-mails…and the other e-mails and everything! ^_~ *Points at Leslie* I was writing the e-mail to her when I suddenly wanted to write chapter nine. It's her fault, praise her //_~

Ok, ok, enough of this, Read on! *Points at fik* …oh yeah…and Please don't kill mehhh! 

**Disclaimer**: *Sorta in a singsong voice* I don't own them, they don't belong to meeeehhh; please don't sue me; I've got no moneeeeyyy. *Cough* 

///_blah_/// = Flashback

~ Blah ~ = Dream/Reno's Flashbacks

Chapter nine 

Tseng stood staring into the darkened room, his body silhouetted by the bright moonlight that was pushing its way through the tightly drawn curtains that covered the room's only window.

In the center of the room, his face lit up by the flickering light of a computer screen, sat Rude and beside him one very nervous Aeris.

Aeris' eyes were pinned to Tseng as he gazed sightlessly at the carpet, mind awhirl with everything he'd discovered on his trip to Nibelhiem.

"I really don't think I should be here." Aeris tried one last time to reason with the Turk she'd known for years, "The kind of trouble we could _all_ get into if we're caught…"

Tseng sighed and looked at the deeply shadowed figure of the girl, "I think it's worth the risk."

"What can I tell your Turk that you can't? I told you everything."

Tseng shook his head then realized she probably couldn't see it, "Reno has a head for intrigue and tactics that you wouldn't believe and he'll be able to think of things that I didn't. It's better to have you here to answer his questions then to have me staring at him blankly."

Aeris sighed and Tseng was saved from her answer by Rude, "I can't disconnect it."

Tseng blinked, "Can't disconnect what?"

Rude glanced up at Tseng then glared at the computer screen, for once his trusty shades nowhere to been seen, "The tracking program I set up earlier today to try and find those files these people are hiding. They've activated some sort of lock on me, I can't disconnect it."

"Can we still phone Reno?"

Rude scratched his nose then tapped a few keys on the computer and grunted, "Yes."

Tseng smiled slightly, "Good, then lets get this over and done with."

Tseng left his position at the window, moving to stand behind Rude, and watched the screen of the computer as it went black then registered the phone connection.

It rung three times, then four… then connected.

"What?!" a surly voice answered.

-=-=-=-=-

The sun was shining, the birds were singing and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky to mar the perfect day. The thunderstorm of the night before had cleared off rather quickly once it had near drowned the area around Mideel and now there was nothing to be seen of it-bar droplets of dew hanging off the soggy looking foliage and puddles of water in odd places, waiting to waylay the unwary.

On a day like this any self respecting person would be outside, soaking up the good weather, enjoying the sunshine and generally having a good time, and in-fact that's what most of the population of Mideel was doing. But a few miles away, a bare 5-hour walk into the forest, there were two who barely registered that the sun was even up. Sunshine, singing birds and cloudless skies were definitely the last thing on their minds – unless, of course, it was to tell them they were being to bright or to noisy.

Arms wrapped securely around the blonde laying in the bed in front of him, head buried under at least two pillows and three thick blankets, Reno-the self proclaimed 'greatest Turk of them all'- slept on into the day with only the occasional, sleepy thought to shooting small, singing, winged creatures. He was, in fact, having a delightful dream about being sound asleep in a warm, soft bed, a warm body in his arms and a feeling of cozy contentedness surrounding him.

No…wait. Okay…maybe he wasn't dreaming it. That meant he was awake. The greatest Turk of them all wasn't particularly thrilled about this notion; he'd just have to ignore the world around him and go back to sleep. He did just that.

Then the sound that had woken him up came again.

Huh?

Reno's sleepy mind listened intently to the sound…_oh right. The vid-phone._ His sleepy mind was ecstatic. Great. He'd identified the sound, now it would stop and he could go back to sleep.

The sound came again.

"Reno, what the hell is that? Shut it up, I'm trying to sleep here!"

Reno's blankets were suddenly pulled off him and his cozy warmth disappeared with them.

"This'd better be important." Reno said darkly and rolled over, fumbling for his laptop as the damned thing rung again then yanked it open and hit the receive button, "What?!"

The picture on the screen immediately flickered on and Reno was treated to the sight of Rude, without his customary shades, blinking at the screen in startlement of the abrupt greeting.

"We didn't get you up, did we Reno?" Tseng interjected smoothly his face joining Rude's on the screen. "Isn't it at least lunch-time near Mideel?" 

Reno scowled at the screen as he reached backwards, his hand searching for the edges of the blankets that had so recently covered him.

The image of Tseng tilted his head slightly and, apparently unfazed by Reno's scowl, searched the area of the room that he could see, which thanks to the angle Reno had set his laptop down, wasn't much.

"So if you're sleeping the day away, where's Rufus?"

Reno finally located the edge of the blankets and, with one strong pull, managed to pull them over to him; inadvertently answering Tseng's question as Rufus sat up, entering Tseng's line of sight, glared at Reno and, pushing his messy fringe out of his eyes, rapped Reno on the head then yanked the blankets back over himself and snuggled back down to sleep.

Reno's scowl deepened.

Tseng went pale.

Rude glared.

"…I trust," Tseng said at length, "That there is a very good reason for what I just saw, _or_ that my eyes are playing tricks on my and I didn't see it."

Reno tried to force his fuzzy brain to function, "We had a late night and there's only one bed here."

There was a pause and Reno resisted the urge to slap himself in the head. _And of course that didn't sound like I spent the night screwing him silly at _all._ Very quick thinking there, wake up damnit!_

"…There was a storm last night. Rufus got lost in it." Reno elaborated. A pillow flew out of nowhere and hit Reno in the back of the head and he turned to scowl over his shoulder at the apparently 'sleeping' Rufus.

"What…was Rufus doing out in a storm?" 

"Getting lost." Reno replied blandly, this time catching the pillow that was thrown at him and tossing it back over his shoulder and ignoring Rufus' growl of annoyance, "Did you actually have a reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour? Or was this just a social call?"

Tseng shook his head slightly to clear it, "Of course. We've done a little investigating here and found out some interesting things." Tseng tilted his head slightly, his eyes pinned to Reno in the oddest manner, "A few things about Hojo's activities here in Nibelhiem."

Reno instantly sat up; the sleepy look falling from his face to be replaced by a ferial alertness, "Explain. Now."

Tseng hid a tiny smirk and launched into a concise report on everything Aeris had told him, "This is related to the Sephiroth incident, 5 years back. It seems Hojo has been doing some…experiments inside the reactor with humans and Mako energy." Reno nodded and waved a hand to hurry Tseng along, this wasn't something he didn't already know about, "Sephiroth figured out his origins, that's why he went ballistic. Two others were caught in the event, a SOLDIER named Zack and a Blue named Cloud. 

"Sephiroth was thrown into the life stream, that's when Hojo's people arrived. They found both the SOLDEIR and the Blue unconscious, badly wounded. Getting rid of them was required of the cleanup so Hojo simply reported them dead and took them for his own experiments with Mako. They are, in fact, below me at this moment, in the Mansion's basement."

There was a long silence, as Reno contemplated the information given to him. Sounded like something Hojo would do; an easy way to get helpless lab rats to play with. "How did you find this out? The townsfolk?"

Tseng shook his head slightly and gestured off the screen, "I found out from someone who's been doing her own investigating here. Aeris?"

Reno blinked rapidly as the small girl moved into the space Tseng had been occupying looked suspiciously at the screen, "Long time no see." He commented dryly after a moment, "How's your ankle?"

Aeris wrinkled her nose, "Still aches in cold weather."

Reno smirked, "So where did you find all this out? And why?"

Aeris glanced behind her at Tseng again then back at the screen, "Zack was someone I was quite…close too. When he didn't come home from what was supposed to be a simple mission; I decided to come looking." At Reno's raised eyebrow Aeris pushed her fringe back, "You of all people should know I have ways of finding things out. The cries of the Planet in this area are very loud." She trailed off quietly.

Out of the corner of his eye Reno watched Rufus as he attempted to look like he was still sleeping while listening as hard as possible. Would the kid be a problem? What if he wasn't trustworthy enough for this information? Did it really matter?

"Do you know exactly what's being done to them?" Reno asked turning his attention back to the laptop screen.

Aeris shook her head, "All I know is that they're alive and that the experiments have something to do with pure Mako and…and something else. Something the Planet doesn't like it; something that hurts."

"What are you planning on doing?" The question was addressed to the silent Tseng.

Tseng smiled tightly, "Anything and everything to get under Hojo's skin and ruin him if possible."

Reno smirked, "Rude. You'll need to get into their computers to get in there; the security is quite tight knit if it's still anything like it was the last time I was there."

 Aeris quickly moved out of the way as the silent Turk moved back into Reno's line-of-sight then both she and Tseng moved away as the two began to talk 'computer talk'; and nestled in a cocoon of blankets the blonde Vice-President of ShinRa. Inc yawned and went back to sleep.

-=-=-=-

"So what was that all about?" Rufus had finally pulled himself out of his warm nest of blankets and was now finger-combing his unruly mop of hair into a semi tidy state.

"What was what all about?" Reno barely glanced up from the screen of his laptop, which he had been glued to ever since he'd finished talking with his fellow Turks.

"All that stuff about Hojo and those guys he's experimenting on. What's so interesting about it?"

Reno's typing stopped briefly then continued, "Old debts. Hojo has a lot to account for and Tseng is in the mood collect."

Rufus frowned, "What does that have to do with you? It sounded like Tseng wanted to tell you specifically…"

Reno shrugged, "I'm good at infiltration; and I taught Rude everything he knows about computers."

"Oh. So what are you doing now?"

"Stuff."

Rufus moved over to Reno and tried to peer over his shoulder, "What kind of stuff? Are you hacking something?"

Reno snorted, "No and yes. This," He gestured at a small box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, "is a tracking program. That," a gesture at the bottom left of the screen, "is a Virus, and this main window is the insides of ShinRa's computer system."

Rufus blinked, "…A virus? What are you doing in the ShinRa computers? No, _how_ did you get into the computers?!"

Reno grinned, "I've been able to get into the computers since I was seven. But I'm actually doing it legitimately this time, the Turks have more access then most other area's of the company; And I'm in here because Rude needs the floor plans for the Nibelhiem mansion"

"…Oh." Rufus leaned on the wall beside him, "So…what's the virus for?"

Reno was once again typing and Rufus could see streams of information he couldn't understand a word of flying up the screen, "I've attached it to the tracker program, incase anyone tags me."

There was a moment of silence then Rufus pushed himself off the wall and straightened his t-shirt, "I'm going outside."

"Alright." Reno didn't even look up.

Shaking his head Rufus sauntered out the door and made his way to the hill behind the cottage that was proving so useful as of late. The hill wasn't tall so there wasn't much of a view, only the tops of trees for miles in any direction and in the distance the evidence of a small town.

There was something Reno wasn't telling him; of that Rufus was sure. And it was something to do with Hojo as well. Dropping down onto the ground, Rufus leant back on his elbows and tried to do a little thinking.

Who was Reno that he could hack into the ShinRa. Inc. computer system since he was seven? And why would Tseng go out of his way to tell Reno about Hojo, when contact was supposed to be for emergencies only? And who was the girl? What did she mean 'cries of the planet'? Only the Ancients could hear the planet but that was only a legend… Either way, Hojo was certainly doing things he shouldn't be, and if Hojo was doing it then Rufus' father certainly had a hand in it somewhere. 

Rufus frowned. Mako experiments on humans; which is what was going on with Sephiroth that much Rufus had already known. Sephiroth was the leading example of SOLDIER and what Mako enhancements could do but… Rufus suddenly sat upright. Experiments on humans? Mako enhancements? Reno could hack into the most highly guarded computer system since he was barely seven… and he'd given the excuse of 'old debts' for wanting to know about Hojo. Countless nights of waking to Reno's nightmare filled sleep came back to Rufus and suddenly a lot of things made a horrifying and crystal clear picture.

Rufus was stunned. Of all things he'd expected Reno's dreams to be about, Human experimentation with Mako energy and Professor Hojo was certainly not on the list. Sitting on the side of a small hill in the middle of nowhere, his jeans soaking up the left over dew from the grass and his jaw working silently in shock, Rufus failed to hear the light footsteps behind him. He couldn't fail however to feel the pain in the back of his head as something slammed into it, flashing stars into his vision. And he certainly would have noticed the slightly triumphant laughter that came afterwards except that by that point he was completely unconscious.

-=-=-=-

Tseng tapped his fingers impatiently as Rude downloaded the information Reno was sending onto his computer, "Is it done yet?"

Rude grunted, "No."

Tseng sighed and rested his head on his hands; it had been a long night and he'd had a long day before it. Now he was ready to just curl up and go to sleep…except that his training wouldn't allow it.

"How about now?" He mumbled into the tabletop and Rude ignored him. Tseng didn't blame him; Aeris had long since given up and left for wherever it was she was staying. But not, of course, before Tseng had inquired after Reno's odd question about he ankle.

///_  "You remember when I was caught a year ago?"_

_Tseng nodded, "Yes, I went to a lot of effort to get you out as I recall."_

_Aeris smiled, "Yes, well Reno was who got sent after me. He did a good job of chasing me too; actually he caught me. We were running though sector 3 when I slipped and broke my ankle. Reno helped me get to the nearest healer…then left. I'm still not sure why though."_

_Tseng frowned for a moment then tilted his head, "Reno's odd like that. Perhaps your healing was going to take to long and he couldn't be bothered waiting; he never did follow the presidents orders very well."_

_Aeris shrugged, "Lucky for me then."  _///

Tseng had been told once that when he actually tried he could be the most irritating person that ever lived, he'd been told it was inherited from his, never mentioned and forever absent, father. As a small child, and even as an older one, Tseng had taken the statement as a matter of pride and had done his best to hone the ability; he used that ability now, "Done yet?"

Rude slowly looked up at the man who normally made most of ShinRa cower in fear and demanded respect from the strongest of men, "Go away."

Tseng yawned and ignored the danger tainted look that was being directed at him, "Maybe I will go get some sleep, wake me when that's finished?"

Rude grunted in acknowledgement and went back to his attempt to get the 'lock' program that had been put on his system to 'unlock'.

Tseng yawned again then dragged himself to his feet and made for the door; then paused as Rude's laptop started ringing. Rude answered the call instantly.

"He's gone!"

Tseng blinked then shook the sleepiness out of his brain and went back to the computer. 

"Who's gone?" 

"Who do you think?!" The distraught image of Reno was on the screen when Tseng got there and the leader of the Turks frowned.

"You mean Rufus? When did you see him last? Where? Are you sure he's not just lost again?"

Reno was thrusting things into a knapsack as he spoke, "Two hours ago; he went outside. He's not 'just lost', I found a patch of blood on the rise behind the cottage, no sign of a struggle and no indication it was an animal. I'd say somebody, probably Hojo, found out where we were and sent someone."

"The lock!" Rude suddenly burst out shocking the other two men.

"What?" They both demanded.

"My system's tracker program has a lock on it. They must have traced the outgoing call."

Reno exploded, "You called me with a lock on your tracker program?! Why didn't you disconnect it?!"

"Couldn't."

"_Then_ _why the hell did you call?!_" Clutching his hands at his sides, Reno took a deep breath and released it, "We need to find out where they're taking him. Where would Hojo judge the safest place to hide him from us? I need to get back to Midagr." He paused then glared at the computer screen, "Rude, let me into your system; I'll get that damned lock off of you while I travel back and maybe trace it back. I might be able to find something out."

Tseng leaned on the back of Rudes chair and watched Reno's rapid mood changes, "Well I agree with all that. Rude and I will have to stay here. If we leave things will begin to look suspicious…and we still have those two kids in the lab downstairs to deal with."

Reno nodded and tied his pack shut and shouldered it, "I'll be back in Midgar in six hours, maybe seven. You should contact your Ancient, Tseng. She might be able to help."

Tseng nodded then sighed as the screen went blank, "Sometimes I wonder _why_ everyone tries to insist I'm the leader of the Turks."

Rude grunted, "Because being in charge is what you do best and Reno couldn't be bothered with the paperwork."

Tseng pushed a strand of hair behind his ear then stifled a yawn, "Quite right. Get some sleep; we'll need it tomorrow and there's nothing we can do right now." Tseng's eyes narrowed, "But I swear…when I find out where Hojo's taken the boy, he'll wish he never even thought of the idea."

-=-=-=-

~~~~

Dark. Cold. Wet.

He was lying on cold wet stone, a basement.

Reno groaned and made a halfhearted attempt at getting the leather straps that were binding his wrists to the stone table beneath him to break, or at least loosen. No use.

 Reno didn't even groan at the failed attempt, he'd been, trying on and off, for the past three days and if it hadn't worked then then it certainly wouldn't work now, not when he'd suffered through three days of experiment induced torture and was now weak as a three hour old chocobo.

Closing his eyes to the darkness Reno began to drift off again when there was a sudden crash.

"…You fools, hold him down!"

The sound of shattering glass.

"Idiot! Get out of the way!"

Reno lifted his head slowly and stared into the darkness; what was going on? Another experiment? Reno smirked weakly, served them right if one of their 'test subjects' got away from them. Reno hoped whoever it was got free and killed them all.

There was a sudden scream from the other room followed by a bestial roar that made Reno jerk in his restraints. Hastily Reno rearranged his thoughts, he hoped _what_ever it was got free and killed them all. In fact, if it did that he wouldn't even mind if it killed him next, so long as everything was over…

The screams got louder then suddenly cut off, and now Reno could hear running footsteps and the rumble of voices as people shouted to each other on the other side of the walls. Reno smirked wider, were they running away? Or running to subdue their monster? 

Reno was suddenly blinded as the door to his room was thrown open and intense white light shined in. Wincing away from the light Reno barely registered the now clear yelling.

"…Catch it! Catch it! I don't care how; just don't kill it! Blast! I said _catch _it! It's gotten into the secondary room! Somebody get a damned tranquilizer and shoot the damned thing before it kill's the other experiment! _Hurry up_! …_"_

The voice shut off suddenly, as did the light that had been blinding Reno. The door had been shut. Firmly.

Reno blinked his watering eyes and was suddenly aware of someone or some_thing_ else in the room with him. Dimly he watched as a piece of darkness, darker then the rest, moved slowly around the room then was suddenly hovering over Reno himself.

Reno ceased breathing as the creature leaned over him, peering intently at Reno's Mako tinted eyes. 

He was going to die. The thought crossed Reno's mind with a certainty that came from his gut. Oddly the thought didn't disturb him, if he was dead then there would be no more experiments…but it didn't stop him from being afraid. 

The creature was running it's claws down Reno's arms now and the redhead struggled not to flinch away; don't fear death. Gritting his teeth, Reno closed his eyes and waited…and was surprised when the creature growled low in its throat then ripped the bindings off Reno's wrists and ankles. Reno's eyes snapped open as he was suddenly pulled upwards into the sitting position then pulled off the table where he nearly collapsed as his weakened legs refused to support him. But the creature helped him.

Reno was dazed, what was going on? Wasn't the creature going to kill him? If it was it had an odd way of going about it; this seemed more like it was helping Reno…helping him to escape?

Reno shook his head as the thought came to him. No, that couldn't be right; this was only a monster, right? And it didn't matter; they couldn't get out, even if they tried.

"…Can't…can't get out." Reno mumbled weakly, more to himself then to the creature.

"Indeed." The door was suddenly thrust open and light flooded in again revealing the figure of Professor Hojo, "You're quite right, you can't get out."

Reno ignored him and stared at the suddenly revealed creature. It looked like something from a story…or a nightmare. A demon. Its hide was tough, leathery; as were the two giant wings that settled restlessly on it's back. It stood far taller then Reno had ever seen and its frame revealed muscles that proved truth to the power Reno could feel in it's surprisingly gentle grip.

"Magnificent, isn't he?" Hojo commented to Reno as if the giant creature wasn't growling at him menacingly, "This is part of a rather complicated experiment I've been researching. It's unfortunate that it was a failure." He suddenly turned his attention to the creature, "And really Mr. Valentine; this is no way to behave. I'm afraid it's back to sleep for you."

The creature suddenly let go of Reno and threw itself at Hojo but not fast enough to stop the man from pressing the button on a contraption he'd pulled out of his pocket.

The creature instantly fell to the ground, clutching at its head then the most amazing thing happened. Shimmering the creature suddenly disappeared and in its place knelt a thin black haired man dressed in little more then rags.

Hojo tsked then stepped up to the man and injected him quickly with a needle and the man fell forward on the floor, unconscious or dead; Reno didn't know which. 

Immediately a group of the white-coated scientists rushed into the room behind Hojo and grabbed the man and were gone with him just as quickly. Hojo smiled with something close to affection as they left the room then waved his hand in Reno's direction, "Somebody refasten him to the table." He ordered then left. 

Reno groaned but didn't try to struggle. He hadn't the energy.

~~~~

-=-=-=-

Reno jerked awake and stared confusedly at the blinking light of his computer screen till finally it occurred to him what he was looking at. _Finally!_

For most of the long trip back to Midgar, Reno had been sorting through Rude's computer, attempting to get a hold on the 'lock' that was on it – obviously he had gone to sleep in the process. It seemed, though, that whoever had been monitoring the 'lock' had triggered one of Reno's 'traps'; and that's what had woken him.

 Leaning forward eagerly, Reno began tracking the link back to its home computer…easy!

Reno got a lock.

_Well, well, well…what have we here?_ Reno's eyebrows suddenly rose so high they looked as if they were going to make a permanent home in his hairline. The home computer wasn't in Nibelhiem, as Reno thought it would be… it was in Midgar.

_Company computer, located in the tower…not from the science department!_ Reno's eyebrows attempted to raise further, "Executive maybe…or thereabouts. Man, look at all this stuff…" Muttering under his breath, Reno hacked slowly through the system attempting to get a better idea of the computers user.

"Standard; Standard; huh?" Reno paused the stared in shock, "No way!"

Reno's half startled yell earned an odd look from the pilot of the small airship he was being flown 'home' in, but Reno ignored him. _Colleen? That damned secretary? The one with the silly outfits? Well I guess that explains a lot…_

Shaking his head in bemusement, Reno concentrated on searching through the computer's recently accessed files and programs without getting caught.  _Come on…come on! If you traced Rude's call then it'll be here somewhere… Ah huh!_

Finally he found it and scanned over the files, "Detecting outgoing signal…tracing…location confirmed…" _Not good enough to actually hack in and listen to the conversation? _Reno grinned then scanned to the end of the file and opened the next one.

_Ah-huh!_

The first person Colleen had contacted after getting the trace was none other then professor Hojo himself. Reno smirked and hacked into the computer call backup system and quickly found the one he wanted and loaded it up. Why did nobody, including the man who had made Reno like he was, ever think that he could do anything and everything he set his mind too? They were just lucky world domination sounded like far too much effort and paperwork to bother with or they'd be in trou…

Reno disconnected the 'lock' Colleen had had on Rude's computer then disconnected himself from the network, shutting his laptop down, "Hey!" Reno waved a hand to get the attention of his pilot, "Change of direction; head to Nibelhiem."

The man shrugged and reset the course co-ordinates and Reno sat back again and closed his eyes. This time he didn't drift off to sleep though; instead visions of exactly what he'd do to Hojo if the Professor laid so much as a finger on _his_ Rufus danced in his minds eye…

Actually, Reno decided with a smirk, it didn't matter if he did anything to Rufus or not; he'd do it all anyway. 

-=-=-=-

So…er…who's going to kill me first? Remember, R&R!

*Bows then runs and hides* (why did I feel like I had to mention 'lying' in that action?)

~Vanyel~


End file.
